
Class. 
Book_ 


,3& 


PRESENTED B'l' ' 

• 





French, British and American 

lATElGHTS, MEASURES and COINS. 



LENGTH. 



Inch. . . . 
foot . . . 
yard . . 
mile. . . 
naut. mile. 



= centim. 2.54 
= " 30.5 

= metres 0.915 
= " 1609.315 
= " 1358.4 



5 miles = 8 kilom. 



m6tre ... 
centimetre. . 
millimetre. . = 
kilometre . . 
lieue marine . 
11 metres 



feet. 

in. 

do. 

yds. 

do. 

12 



3.28089 
0.39371 
0.03937 

1093.63 

6075. 
yards. 



■sq. inch, 
sq. foot, 
sg. yard, 
sq. mile. 
1 



SQUARE MEASURE. 



. = sq. centim. 6.^5 

. = sq. decim. 9.29 

. = sq. metre. 0.836 

. = sq. kilom. 2.588 
acre = 40 ares. 



metre carr6 = sq. feet. 10.75 
are . . . = sq. yds. 119.60 
10 ares . . = sq. roods. 1. 
kilom. carre = sq. mile. 0.38 
1 hectare = 2.5 acres. 



CUBIC MEASURE. 



•cubic inch. = 
cubic foot. = 
-cubic yard. = 



c. centim 
c. decim. 



10 cubic 



16.38 
28.37 
766. 
metres = 



metre cube et stere = 

decimetre cube . . = 

centimetre cube . = 

13 cubic yards. 



c. feet. 35.32 

c. in. 61.03 

do. 0.06 



FLUIDS AND GRAINS. 



gill . . . . = litres 
pint . . . . = 
quart. . . . = 
gallon . . . = 

do. (American) = 
iusbel . . . = 

do. (American) = 
barrel (beer) . = 
•quarter 



0.142 
0.568 
1.136 
4.54 
3.78 
36.35 
35.2 
163.25 
290.4 



litre . . = 

decilitre. = 

centilitre = 

decalitre. = 

hectolitre = 



pint, 
c. inch. 

do. 
Engl. 
Amer. do. 
Engl, galls. 
Amer. do. 
Eng. bushels. 
Amer. do. 



1.76 

6.1 

0.6 

2.2 

2.6 

22. 

26. 
2.75 
2.8 



2 gallons = 9 litres. 7 litres = 6 quarts. 3 hectol. = 1 quarter. 



dr. 



lb. 

•cwt 



Avoirdupois. 
= grammes 1.8 
= do. 28.35 
= do. 453.58 
= kilogr. 50.78 



WEIGHTS 
Troy. 
gr. = grammes 
dwt. = do. 
oz. = do. 
lb. = do. 



0.065 
1.155 
31.1 
373.23 



Metric. 
gramm.=grs. troy . 15.4 
livre = lbs. avoir. 1.1 
kilogramm. = do. 2.2 
quint, metr. = do. 220.5 



Long ton = 1018 kilog. Short ton = 910 kilog. Tonne = 2205 lbs. Avoir. 

COINS (Post Office rates, normal times). 



penny = 2 cents = fr. 10 centimes 

shilling = quarter = 1 fr. 25 

1 pound St. = 5 dol. = 25 francs. 



franc = 10 d. = 20 cents 
sou = 1/2 d. = 1 cent 
5 francs = 4 shillings = 1 dollar. 



TEMPERATURE. 



:From Fahrenheit into Centigrade : 
subtract 32 from Fahr. and divide 
by 1. 8. E. g. : 104° F. = (104—32) : 
1. 8. = 40° C. 

100° Fahr = 38°8 C 



From Centigrade into Fahrenheit: 
Multiply C. by 1.8 add 32. E. g. : 
25° C. = (25x1.8)4-32 = 77° Fahr.: 



(fever). 



THERMOMETER 




The value of 5° Centigrade corresponds to 9° Fahrenheit and 4° Reaumur. 

The o" Centigrade corresponds to 0° Reaumur and 33° Fahrenheit. 

Fox instance to obtain the corresponding value of 15° Centigrade alove zero ^^^s 

shall have to make the following calculations : 

15° Centigrade = 4° Reaumur x 3 = 12° + 0° = 12° Reaumur. 

15° Centigrade = 9° Fahrenheit X 3 — 27° + 32° = 59° Fahrenheit. 



FACTS 
ABOUT FRANCE 



A SHORT HISTORY 
OF FRANCE 

By MARY DUCLAUX 

(A. MARY F. ROBINSON) 

With Four Maps. Cloth, los. 6d. net 

{Third Ivipression) 

"Mrae Duclaux possesses the art of breathing life 
into the dry bones of the dead past."— T^e Thnes. 

" The best history of France which has yet appeared 
in English." — The Field. 

" Mme Duclaux is a true literary artist ; and no one, 
we venture to say, even among the writers of her 
adopted nation, the home of brilliant literature, was 
better fitted for the exact task she has here set herself 
and so charmingly fulfilled." — Spectator. 



T. FISHER UNWIN LTD. 
I Adelphi Terrace, London 



FACTS ABOUT FRANCE 

"By E. SAILLENS, Interpreter 
British Expeditionary Force o ^ ^ ^ 

Wit/i a Foreword by EMILE HOVELAQUE 
Inspecteur-gen^ral de I'lnstruction publique o o 



WITH 45 ILLUSTRATIONS AND 21 MAPS AND PLANS 



NEW YORK 

FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 






GFIffr 
Pabllsher 

i^m IS tsi9 

First Published in igiS 



i\^^ 



/ 



3 



AUTHOR'S NOTE 



To the reader who now lives " somewhere in France " I need not 
enumerate the various difficulties attendant upon the compiling of a 
book like the present one, which deals with so many subjects. Indeed, 
these difficulties were such, that if I had not been certain of the 
necessity of such a book, long before the war, and much more so since 
then, I would never have attempted to write it. 

If I now presume to offer it to our English-speaking Allies, in 
spite of its inevitable incompleteness, and of the inaccuracies which 
must have escaped my notice, that is because it is the first of its kind, 
so far as France is concerned. It will justify its existence, imperfect 
as it is bound to be, if it only helps the average reader to take his 
bearings in a new country, and induces him eventually to more 
detailed study. 

I specially desire to state that in no case have I consciously de- 
viated from what I believed to be the general French point of view. 
I suggest that a national point of view, even when erroneous, is better 
worth knowing than the conclusions of any individual, however well- 
founded, because such a point of view, true or false, is a national fact, 
and an important determining factor of national action. 

The specialists are respectfully requested to show forbearance. If 
they will carry generosity so far as to single out to me my worse errors 
or omissions, they will render a great service both to myself and to 
future readers. 

E. S. 

H. Q. 5th Army. 30th March, igi8. 



FOREWORD 



Sir Walter Scott tells us that an old Scotch peasant looked 
over his shoulder one day as he was poring over a dictionary, 
and remarked : " They're perhaps fine stories you're reading, 
Master, but they're unco' short ! "And the stories Mr.Saillens 
has gathered here are unco' short perhaps, but certainly fine, 
since they tell us all about France. 

He has done for his native land what Chamberlain did in 
that delightful book familiar to all who have visited Japan 
— and to many who haven't — : Things Japanese. In the 
smallest possible space Chamberlain packed everything the 
most inquisitive mind could wish to know about the past 
and present of that Far-Eastern fairy-land, its history, its 
aspects, its productions, manners, customs, life and art. No 
living guide could better answer the questions raised at every 
turn, in simpler, surer, more living words, than that tiny 
encyclopaedia of Japan, And with the plan of Mr. Sail- 
lens' model, its spirit has passed into the little book I am 
asked to preface, a spirit of love and sympathy for his sub- 
ject and his readers, which alone can lead to a right under- 
standing of both. 

In every way Mr. Saillens was fitted for his task. He knows 
and loves his country like a native, yet has seen it through 
the eyes of a foreigner, first as a world-wide traveller and next 
as Interpreter for nearly three years to the British Expedi- 
tionary Forces in France. And further no one better under- 
stands England and America, the splendid soldiers of both, 
their thoughts and needs, their very language, which he 
writes like one of them. And thus in a sense his book grew 
up of itself out of old sympathy and present experience. It is 
no work of the study, but a living product of every day inter- 



FOREWORD 

course with living, questioning men, suddenly thrown into a 
strange and complex land where everything was new. Every 
paragraph corresponds to some question really asked, to some 
need that had to be met, in trench or village, or countryside. 
And questions and needs are answered by a brother-soldier, 
simply, frankly, humorously, with a kindly humanity which 
gives warmth and life to every fact. 

Read the article on the French peasant for example, and 
say whether it is possible not to understand and love that 
sturdy soul as you read and realize all he has stood for in the 
life of France, in this awful struggle, which without his stead- 
fastness, his heroic simplicity of sacrifice, his grit, his endu- 
rance and his dash, would long since have spelled' defeat. As 
we read what his patience, his strength, his native intelligence 
of civilized things have done for the world, what his women- 
folk have borne and done for their fair land and all it stands 
for, a passion of gratitude and admiration sweeps our hearts. 
And little by little a reasoned love, a love founded on under- 
standing, on realities and facts, not vague sentimental ideal- 
ism, grows up in our minds, and the soul of France is re- 
vealed to us. 

And so, while holding out a brotherly hand to our Allies, 
Mr. Saillens fulfils a duty towards his country, so long raisun- 
derstood, so hard to understand, since it is perhaps the subt- 
lest and most complex of human realities. Some of its charm 
and all its defects lie upon the surface : its solid virtues it 
takes long familiarity, or the revelation of a great crisis, the 
illumination of world-stirring names, Joan of Arc, the Marne, 
Verdun, to bring before all eyes. But then we see beneath the 
light-heartedness that jests at everything the great-hearted- 
ness that mocks at death, beneath the vivacity in little things 
the staunchness under strain, beneath the spirit of universal 
criticism and the determination never to be a dupe of others 
or of one's self, but to seek the truth at any cost, the loftiest 
idealism, an undying faith in all things sweet and noble. 

"lis grognent, mais ils marchent" ("They're always grumbl- 
ing, but they always fight "), as Napoleon said of his " gro- 
gnards " (grumblers), ever ready to follow a leader or an idea 
to the world's end. The flame of devotion and idealism that 
made the crusades, raised the cathedrals, and swept Europe 
with the armies of the Revolution, still burns inextinguish- 
ably along the desolate dykes that hold back the flood of 
barbarism as in the days of Poitiers and Chalons ; — and the 

— vin — 



FOREWORD 

Frenchman is still true to his ag6-long mission to be at 
infinite personal cost the buckler of civilization. For him life 
has ever been a thing of little worth if it is to be bought at 
the expense of liberty, of human dignity, of honour, of 
self-respect, of the right to live one's own life in one's own 
way, with no master but one's own conscience under laws 
accepted by free consent alone. 

And so the grimy blue-coated « poilu » , frozen and scorched 
by turns, caked with mud, grey with dust, worn and battered 
and seared by three years of hell, is to eyes that are not blind 
no less heroic a presence than the knights of old. There can 
be no greater privilege than to see the light that leads him 
on', than to feel the spirit of the land that gave him birth, the 
unconquerable soul of France. 

Out of the unspeakable wretchedness of this awful tragedy 
this good at least has come, that the recognition of what a 
few large-hearted English raen and women, like Meredith, 
Mrs. Browning and Swinburne clearly saw, is becoming a 
common possession of all the world : 

And I am strong to love this noble France, 

This poet of the nations, who dreams on 

For ever after some ideal good, 

Some equal poise of sex, some unvowed love 

Inviolate, some spontaneous brotherhood, 

Some wealth that leaves none poor and finds none tired. 

Some freedom of the many that respects 

The wisdom of the few... 

Mrs. Browning wrote that long ago : other things have been 
revealed to us by the lurid glare of the unending battle on 
French soil, and the infinite sacrifices of French hearts. 
Those sacrifices have been made for all alike : one may 
truly say that the whole world is France's debtor, and that 
debt none have acknowledged more generously than England 
and America in the burning words of Kipling and Roosevelt, 
Galsworthy, Chesterton, Belloc, a hundred others. Her aims 
are those of all free men : a common consciousness of all 
mankind, a new brotherhood of man is the fruit of all this pain. 
" We learn by admiration, love and hope " : Englishman 
and American and Frenchman are learning to know, admire 
and love each other in this great communion of suffering and 
sacrifice, their common hope and task to make the world a 

IX — 



f^OAEWOtlD 

Sweeter, kinder, safer home for their children and all men . 
Towards this understanding of each other's life and thoughts 
this little book will do much. It is more than an introduc- 
tion to France, though that is no small gain : it is a contri- 
bution to that mingling of the peoples towards which the 
whole world moves. 

Something of France, something of the larger vision born 
of common suffering and devotion to the cause of humanity 
our innumerable brave Allies will carry back with them from 
this last crusade. And I hardly know whether Mr. Saillens 
renders a greater service to them, to us, or to that cause. 

Emile Hovelaque, 

Inspector General of Public Instruction in France. 



CONTENTS 



French, British, and American Weights, Measures, and Coins. 
Itiside the Covey at the hegiujiing. 

Scale of I : 80,000 and 1 : 20,000. Inside the Cover at the end. 



Author's Note 
Foreword . 
" Acadt^mies" 
Agriculture 
Aisne 

Alsace-Lorraine 
Architecture 
Army 
Arts 

Bapaume . 
Bayonet 
Belfort 
"Bourgeois " 
Cafes 
Cathedrals 
Cities 
' Climate 
Colonies 
"Comedie Fran9aise " 



PAGE 
V 



19 

25 
31 
32 
33 
34 
34 
36 
37 
43 
44 
46 

51 



— XI 



CONTENTS 



Commerce . 
Cooking- 
Decorations 
Decorative Arts 
" D^partements " 
Domestic Animals 
"Dot" 
Drinks 
Duelling 
Emblems . 
Etiquette 
Fairs 

Frontiers . 
Funerals 
Geographical Outli 
Grenades . 
Historical . 
Home 
Huguenots . 
Industries . 
Information 
Instruction . 
Joan of Arc 
Joflfre 

La Fayette 
Language . 
Libraries 
Literature . 
Louis XIV . 
Maritime 
Marne 

" Marseillaise " 
Metric System 



— XII — 













PAGE 


Meurthe-et-Moselle ...... 147 


Minerals 










150 


Montmartre 










152 


Music 










153 


Napoleon . 










157 


Nobility . . . 


• 








163 


Nord 










167 


Oise 










168 


Painting 










. 171 


Paris ... 










173 


Pas-de-Calais 










. 180 


Pasteur 










182 


Peasants . 










184 


Peronne 










189 


Philosophy . 










191 


Political Organization 










197 


Population . 










199 


Postal 










202 


Provinces .... 










203 


" Quartier Latin " 










205 


Races 










206 


Railways . . , 










214 


Recreations 










217 


Red-Letter Days . 










2ig 


Religion 








" 


221 


" Revanche" 










225 


Roads 










226 


"Sabots" . 










227 


Science 










228 


Sculpture . 










238 


Situation and Consequences 










241 


" Soixante-Quinze " 










245 


Soldiers 










246 



— XIII 





CONTENTS 






PAGE 


Somme 






. 250 


Taxes 










• 252 


Thermal Stations . 










. 256 


Trees 










• 257 


Verdun 










. 260 


Versailles . 




• 






. 263 


Victor Hugo 










■ 265 


War-French 










. 267 


Waterways 










. 270 


What Others Have Said 










. 271 


Wild Animals 










■ 274 


Wines 










• 27s 


Women 










• 27s 


Workmen . 










. 277 


World-War 










• 279 


Appendix . . . 










• 28s 


Index . 










• 299 



— XIV -- 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Richelieu, by Philippe de Champaigne 
Production' of Wheat in Certain Countries 
French Architecture in the XVth Century- 
French Architecture in the XVIth Century 
French Architecture in the XVIIth Century 
Badges and Insignia in the French Army 
A Few Uniforms of the French Army 
The Lion of Belfort, by Bartholdi 
Notre-Dame of Paris (front view) 
Notre-Dame of Paris (inside view) 
Notre-Dame of Paris (abside) 
A Turco 

Voltaire, by Houdon 
Foreign Trade of France 
A Louis XIV Drawing-room 
A Louis XV Drawing-room 
The Bed-Chamber of Marie-Antoinette 
The Bed-Chamber of Empress Josephine 
Increased Consumption of Drinks in France 
The Raising of the Oriflamme of St. Denis : 
Rhone and Certain Rivers compared . 
Joan of Arc, by Dropsy . 
Symbols used in the '■^ Etat-Major" Maps 
Joan of Arc, by Princess Marie d'Orleans 
Joffre ..... 

La Fayette .... 

Moli^re, by Mignard 
Louis XIV, by Rigaud . 

— XV -— 



I9I7 



22 

23 
26, 27 

zz 

37 
39 
41 
50 
51 
S3 
60 
6i 
62 

63 
70 

74 
82 

93 
107 
II I 

"S 
117 

125 
129 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Allied and German Forces in 1914 

French Coal 

World's Production of Coal 

Napoleon, by David 

Sainte Genevieve watching over France, 

Arms of Paris 

The Seine at Paris 

Pasteur .... 

Pascal .... 

Railway Mileage of Certain Nations 

Kilometre and 100 Metre Posts . 

Our Lady of Rheims 

Rodin's " La Pensee " 

General View of Verdun 

Victor Hug-o 

French Output in War Material 





PAGE 


. 


139 


. 


ISO 


. 


151 




158 


byPuvis de Chavannes 


174 




176 


. 


177 


. . . . 


182 


. 


194 


. 


215 


. 


227 


. 


239 


. 


241 


'. . 


260 


. 


265 


• 


283 



LIST OF MAPS 



The Celts in Europe, about 300 B.C. 
The Climates of France . 
The Colonial Empire of France 
The French Hexagon 
France and the Great Lakes 
Roman Gaul . . . 

The Verdun Partition (843) 
Europe under Charles V of Spain 
How French Lands became France 
The Western Front, 1914-1917 . 
France in the Days of Joan of Arc 
The German Advance in 1914 . 
Plan of Paris 
The Battle of the Somme 
Traditional Trade Routes, and Main Battlefields 
Main War Routes, and the Great Battle Area 
The Battle of Verdun .... 
The Palace and Park of Versailles . , 

— XVI — 



12 
45 
47 
81 
82 
84 

85 
86 

87 
, 99 
"3 
138 
175 
189 
242 

243 
261 
264 



FACTS ABOUT FRANCE 



" ACADIEMIE FRANCAISE. " — We have had learned and lite- 
rary societies ever since the " £cole Palatine " of Charlemagne, 
and our provincial academies are many. We possess to-day an 
" Academie des Jeux Floraux " , established at Toulouse in 1323, 
from which young Hugo received a prize in 181 8. The " Institut 
de France " , in Paris, comprises 5 "Academies " : " Inscriptions et 
Belles-Lettres " , iounded by Colbert for the purpose of compos-, 
ing noble inscriptions for the buildings and statues erected to 
the glory of Louis XIV ; " Sciences ", established by Colbert in 
1666; " Fine Arts", by him again, between 1667 and 1672; 
" Sciences Morales et Politiques ", founded by the Convention in 
1794. Older, and more famous than those four, 
is the " Academie Frangaise " , originated by 
Richelieu in 1635. 

The great object of Richelieu was national 
unity; th.e" Academie " was to " establish firmly 
the rules of the language, and make French 
not only elegant, but capable of dealing with 
all arts and sciences. " As the great Cardi- 
nal's failing was writing dramas, he thought 
he was doubly entitled to be one of the original 
members. Another was Corneille, although 
Richelieu found him, as a writer, rather defi- 
cient in " esprit de suite " (perseverance and 
method). The Academicians took their parts 
quite seriously, and regarded themselves as 
" artisans in words, working for the exaltation of the Kingdom. " 

The King was the patron of the institution ; nobody could be 
elected without his due assent ; every new member, on the day of 
bis reception, had to tender his thanks to the Royal Master. 
There could not be more than forty members, and this rule has 
been strictly maintained. 

" Les Quarante " (the Forty) do not believe that they can 
keep the language under discipline by merely publishing a 
Dictionary now and then (the first edition came out in 1694). 
They believe that a standard must be set, and that it is for them 
to set it. Therefore the Academy does not simply call to its 




Cardinal Richeliew 
By Philippe de 
Champaigne (Lou- 
vre Museum.) 



" ACADfiMIE FRANCAlSfi '^ 

ranks famous or careful writers but soldiers as well, bishops, 
scientists, men of the world, men of social rank, so as to maintain 
from generation to generation a national conservatory of good 
manners and good speech. It has become, therefore, almost 
unconsciously a " salon " with a moral force of social preservation. 
Some writers, previous to their election, have had to buy up and 
destroy any copies still left in the trade of some lively book 
written in hot youth. Almost every year, the " Academie" 
receives legacies large or small, from persons anxious to reward 
through its channel good literature of various kinds, long 
services, honest conduct, etc... Thus has the " Academie " 
come to assume the combined functions of a Dr. Johnson, an 
informal House of Lords, a Mrs. Grundy, and several philanthropic 
institutions put together. 

When a seat becomes vacant, it is customary for the candidates 
to call personally on every member. The competition is very 
keen in some cases. Some candidates have been life-long oppo- 
nents of certain members ; others have already tried other seats, 
and strongly suspect that A. or B., in spite of his courteous praises 
and promises, was the cause of their failure, etc. A great deal of 
wire-pulling and drawing-room diplomacy comes into play. 
Again, on the day of his reception, each candidate goes through 
the ordeal of two speeches : one addressed to himself, in which due 
compliments accounting for his election are paid him, while his 
possible errors and wanderings are at least hinted at ; the other, 
by which he returns profuse thanks for the honour conferred on 
him, and praises his predecessor. Those " Discours de Recep- 
tion " are among the social events of the year, eagerly looked 
forward to in some cases, as having almost national importance. 
They are always models of sober eloquence and neat language. 

Some writers would never submit to the indignity or tedium 
of all those preliminaries ; others have regretted that the objects 
of the illustrious Company were not exclusively literary. It is 
quite true that many wind-bags have found their way into the 
"Academie" while some eminent writers (e. g. Moliere)were left 
outside ; Daudet wrote against the "Academie " a bitter satire : 
" Z-'/wmor^e^". The Goncourts, two brothers of refined tastes 
and brilliant literary talent, founded another academy solely 
devoted to the interests of letters. Daudet and Zola belonged to 
it. The " Academic Goncourt " rewards the best literary talents 
as they come to light year by year ; it awards no prize when a 
certain standard has not been reached. 

Yet it may be said that neither this new academy, nor any 
other with an even more exclusive programme, will ever wield the 
social and national iniiuence, for good on the whole, of Richelieu's 
institution. Its prestige extends to the masses : " That's not the 
way they talk at the Academ.ie " is a by-phrase. 

A wit of the xviiith century is mostly remembered to-day 
by two of his flings at the venerable "salon". His epitaph, 



AGRlCtJLttrRfi 

composed by himself, runs thus : " Here lies Piroii, who waS 
nobody, not even an Academician", (" Ci-gUPiron qui nefut Hen, 
pas meme academicien "). To emphasize that a man is very 
strong, the French say " strong as four ". Piron said of the 
Academicians : " They are only forty, but witty as four ". 

Bossuet defined the Academy : " A perpetual sovereign council 
whose credit, established on public approbation, shall be able to 
check the oddities of usage, and curlj the unruliness of that all 
too popular domination. " 

Books recommended. — Arsene Houssaye, Le 41" Fauteuil. — Cheruel, Diction- 
iiaire historique des Institutions de la France (Hachette, 12 fr.). — Discours de 
reception, (Perrin, i fr. each). 

Robertson (D.-M.), History of the French Academy, 1634 to igio (Fisher Unwin, 
London, 1910). 



AGRICULTURE. — France is mainly agricultural : 48 % of its 
population live on agriculture, and 82% of the land yields direct 
profit, in the following proportions : 

Plough-land 48 % Forests 18 % 

Pastures 12 % Non-cultiv. streams.roads 6 % 

Vineyards 4 % Uncultiv. yet cultivable. 12 % 

We have 8,000,000 land-owners, one fourth of the holdings 
being under 15 acres. This distribution is supposed to work 
for general prosperity, as small holdings yield i or 2 % more 
than large ones. Farmers' associations would be very useful, 
but the French peasant is a strong individualist, who owes 
almost everything to his own efforts, and has not learned to 
trust his neighbour. As a worker he is marvellous ; as an agri- 
culturist, he is fairly well informed ; as a business man and an 
economist, he is nowhere. 

The official returns of our Agricultural Department for 19 12 
state the general condition of French agriculture for that year, in 
the following figures : 

Land value in 191 2 : 

Not built on . . . 5.J.571.263.000 fr. 
Built on 10.800.000.000 

Total.. . 70. 371. 263. coo fr. 70.371.263.000 
Capital : Horses and cattle . . 7 . 100 . 000 . 000 
Poultry, etc. . . . 250.000.000 

Implements. . . . 3.200.000.000 

Seeds 950.000.000 

Circulating capital. 8.000.000.000 

Total.. . 19.500.000.000 fr. 19. 500. 000. coo 

Grand total 89.871.263.000 

Net profits in 1913 : 772,000,000 francs. 
— 3 — 



agriculture: 

Net profits in agriculture were 6.5 % in 1882 ; 4.5 % in 1892 ,* 
and only 3.8 % in 1912. 

Land values. — French land, in 1789, was worth about 
500 francs an hectare (I 40, £ 8, an acre) ; about 1850, the same 
area was worth 1,275 francs ; it is estimated now at 1,700 francs 
(I 135, £ 27, an acre). Those figures, of course, are averages ; in 
the Alps, an hectare will be worth 400 francs, while it will fetch 
5,000 in the North. 

Our chief productions are grains, wines, potatoes, and garden 
produce. 

I. Grains — Cover more than a quarter of our total area. 

Wheat alone covers 13 % and is grown in every Department, 
the yearly wheat crop being about 330 million bushels (worth 
2,000 million francs), or : 120 million- hectolitres (U. S. : 227 
million hect. ; Russia : 180 ; Germany : 45 ; U. K. : 19). As a 
rule we have to buy a further supply of 4 million hect. from 
U. S., Algeria, Roumania, etc. 

Our production in wheat per hectare has risen within the last 
100 years from 8.6 to 16 hectolitres (England, with modern 
methods, and using only the best land, obtains 30 for the same 
area). Our area under wheat having more than doubled in the 
same period, we produce four times as much wheat as in the days 
of Napoleon. 

Our great wheat lands are Flanders, Artois, Picardy, Beauce 
(a plateau extending between Seine and Loire), Brie (another 
plateau between the Seine and the Marne), Limagne (Centre), 
and Gascony. 

Oats are grown in the same districts as wheat. Indian Corn, 
along the Garonne and the Saone. Barley, by the beer-drinking 
populations of North and East. Rye and Buck-Wheat in 
Brittany, Limousin, and other regions where the soil is cold and 
poor. 

Our various cereal crops in 1913 amounted to : 



Wheat. . . 


2.345,4 (million francs). 


8.691 (thousand tons) 


Meslin . . . 


34 


» 


149 


» 


Rye . . . . 


254,4 


» 


1. 271 


» 


Barley . . . 


217 


» 


. 1.043 


» 


Buckwheat.. 


109,7 


» 


566 


» 


Oats. . . . 


1.103,2 


» 


. 5-182 


» 


Maize. . . . 


"5,3 


» 


543 


» 


Millet.. . . 




i> 


18,62 
17.463,620 


» 


Francs . . 


4.179.000.000 


tons. 




{% 835.800.000) 




(349.250.00c 


cwt.) 




(£ 167.160.000) 









2. Wines. — We produce on an average one third of the world- 
supply. The main wine districts are : Lower Languedoc (1/4 of 



— 4 — 



AGRICULTURE 

total Fr. production) ; the region of Bordeaux ; Burgundy ; the 
lower valley of the Loire (Saumur, Vouvray) ; the Lyons district ; 
the Western slopes of Jura; the Rhone valley; Roussillon (slopes 
of East Pyrenees); the valleys of the Dordbgne (a tributary of 
the Garonne), and of the Charente. 

The vineyards of Champagne cover 37.500 acres, and produce 
over 30 million bottles, 8 million of which remain in France. (See 
Dvinks.) 

3. Potatoes — Were little known in France until 1778, when 
Parmentier, and Louis XVI, made them popular. They are 



FRANCE 



saill.ouartsrs 




Average yearly production of wheat. 
We produce very liltle maize, and Germany grows more rye than we do The 
United Stat?s and Russia not only produce more wheat than ourselves absolutely 
out in proportion to their population, much more : they can sell, while we must 
buy. Our position is mfinitely better however than that of U. K., with a population 
15 0/0 over ours, an area 40 0/0 less than ours, and a wheat crop one-sixth of our own 

now extensively grown in the sandy districts of the Sologne fa 
plam near the Loire), parts of the Central Range, and Brittanv 
The North and East produce them too, mostly as raw material for 
alcohol and fecula. Our potato crop in 1913 was worth ^"6 mil- 
lion dollars. 

Production of ivheat and potatoes, in cwt., per acre, in France 
and m other European countries (average for 1909-19 13) ; 
Wheat Potatoes 



(cwt) 

France n. 

Germany 17 

U. K 17. 

Belgium 20. 

Denmark 22. 

Holland ig. 



(cwt) 
66. 
100. 
117. 
147. 
no. 

118, 



AGRICULTURE 

N. B. — It is quite true that if our farmers would or could 
spend more on their land, the returns would be higher, abso- 
lutely and comparatively. But it should be remembered that 
we raise crops on a good many fields which some of our neigh- 
bours, having more profitable sources of revenue than farming, 
would regard as not worth cultivating ; the breaking up of new 
land is still going on amongst us ; the new fields being poor 
the total output is increased, but the average per acre is 
lowered. 



1 

In 1. 000 tons 


WHEAT 


OATS 


POTATOES 


MAIZE 


BARLEY 


RYE 


FRANCE 1913 . 


8.691 


5-182 


13-585 


543 


1.043 


1. 271 

842 


FRANCE 1915 . 


6.063 


3.642 


9-399 


434 


642 


U. K. 1913. • . 


1-543 


2.923 


7.726 


- 


1.488 


5 


U. S. A. 1913 . 


20.776 


39-553 


9.022 


62.155 


3-879 


1. 051 



(From Statistiques du Ministere de l' Agriculture.) 

4. Garden Produce. — Always successful, but largely increased of 
late and still growing, with the improvements of railway facilities, 
the production of vegetables; especially " primeurs " (early 
vegetables) is a staple resouice of the Mediterranean South 
(especially Roussillon), and the Avignon district ; of Roscoff 
(N. Brittany : — the Gulf-Stream) ; Anjou; Nantes ; the Garonne 
and Dordogne valleys ; the environs of Paris, Amiens (Amiens 
" hortillonnages "), etc. Tinned vegetables mostly come from 
Nantes and Bordeaux (300 establishments in France). The 
earliest " primeurs " come from Algeria. 

The total value of our garden produce in 1913 (not counting 
what was consumed by the owners of our millions of plots) 
was 477,700,000 francs. Asparagus alone (grown in 20 " depar- 
tements "), yielded over 8 million francs ; artichokes (9 "departe- 
ments ") : as much ; onions : 4,400,000 francs ; mushrooms : 
3 millions ; garlic (6 " departements ") : 600,000 francs. 

Other notable productions of our land are : 

Fruit. — " France produces in the open air all the ordinary 
species ot fruit which its inhabitants consume, apart from 
bananas and pine-apples. " (Encycl. Brit.) 

— 6 — 



AGRICULTURE 

Of Strawberries alone we produced 9.317 tons ^^ 1913 ; they 
sold from 250 to 1,400 francs a ton. 

We sold Grapes, in 1913, to the amount of i miUion pounds 
(5 million dollars). ,, ^ 

Figs : only in the South ; over i.ooo tons, worth from 400 to 
1,500 francs a ton. 

Almonds : Provence and Avignon. 

Plums (5.6 million francs), the best variety giving the prunes 
of Agen and Tours. 

Peaches bring in 4 million francs ; Apricots (Auvergne) : 
about 2, „ , . 

Eating Apples : 45 millions; Cherries : 8; Chestnuts (mostly in 
Cevennes and Auvergne) : 33.5 ; Walnuts ."23. 

Most of Our fruit we consume, or send fresh to England, Kussia 
and Germany. We make jam in 160 factories, and tin fruit in 
140 more. 

Beet-Roots : Flanders, Artois, Picardy, Ile-de-France 
(219 sugar refineries). 

Tobacco, Flax, Hemp : in the North and the West. 

Cider apples, Milk, Butter, Cheese, and Eggs : Normandy and 
Brittany chiefly ; the last two : everywhere. 

Olives (food and oil) : by the Mediterranean, in Provence 
especially; 12 million francs. 

Truffles : Perigord (east of Bordeaux) and Lower Alps 
especially. They are tubercles found at the foot of certain trees, 
under the ground ; the speciahsts who hunt for them do so with the 
help of a dog or pig. Truffles are found in 26 " departements " 
and bring in about 5 million francs yearly. 

The livers of geese of Toulouse, combined with the truffles of 
the district, provide the famous " Pates de foie ". 

Cheeses vary almost from village to village. The three 
famous ones are " Roquefort " (ewes' milk from Central Range) ; 
" Camembert " (cow's milk, Normandy) ; and ''Brie" (cow's milk, 
Brie). The last we regard as the king of cheeses ; but it is too 
delicate to stand travehing. ,, , 

We imported, in 191 6, 200 million dollars worth of corn, 
40 milhon worth of sugar, and 80 miUion worth of meat. 

Books recommended. — Eugene Risler, Geologic agricole (Berger-Levrault), 
^ vol. — Daniel ZoUa, Questions agricoles d'hier et d'aujourd'hui (Colin), 3 fr. 50. 

De Foville, La Propriete rurale en France (Colin), 6fr. 

See also : Domestic animals. — Trees and Flowers — Peas- 
ants, and the catalogues of : Hachette, Larousse, BaiUi^re, 
La Maison Rustique, etc. 



^ 7 — 



AISNE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

AISNE (DEPARTMENT OF). — Named after the River Aisne 
and formed in 1790 out of 6 territories originally belonging to 
Picardy. Its total area is 1,841,800 acres, and its greatest 
dimension (N.-S.) about 87 miles. 

It adjoins to the Departs, of Nord, Ardennes, Marne, Seine- 
et-Marne, Oise, and Somme, and to Belgium. 

Its general aspect is that of a plateau, cut up by the fairly 
deep valleys of rivers running E. or W. ; the highest hill in the 
Depart, is 752 ft., the lowest point iii ft. above sea-level. 

The Waterways belong to 4 basins : i. to the Seine Basin 
flow the Marne, the Surmelin, the Ourcq, the Oise, and its 
important tributary the Aisne, which meets the Oise 2 kilom. 
above Compiegne. The Oise comes from Belgium, and the 
Aisne from the Argonne. 2. The Somme takes its rise in the 
Depart., at a village called Fonsomme, crosses Saint-Quentin, 
and leaves the Depart, after a short journey of 25 miles. From 
Saint-Quentin starts a Canal connecting Somme and Scheldt; 
from another point further down, another Canal runs to the 
Oise. 3. The Scheldt takes its rise in the Aisne, close by Le 
Catelet. 4. The Sambre, and one of its tributaries, the Petite- 
Helpe, flow from the Depart, toward the Meuse. 

The Climate is very much the same as that of the Somme. 
Laon, on an average, has no days of rain, 15 of snow, 10 of 
frost, and 35 of mist. 

The History of this territory is remarkable; taking only one 
place, Soissons, and omitting a great many of its associations, 
this much seems well worth mentioning. The tribe of the 
Suessiones ruled North Gaul when Csesar appeared; their old 
men could still remember the raids of their King Divitiac in 
the Island of Britain. Rheims was all in favour of Caesar; but 
Galba, the king of the Suessiones, refused to submit, collected 
50,000 mea, and was appointed by the Belgian tribes, to which 
he belonged. Chief Commander of their joint forces. Inverse- 
ly, when the Barbarians, 500 years later, had become masters 
of Roman Gaul, Soissons remained the last stronghold of 
Roman authority, and it was at Soissons that Clovis defeated 
Syagrius. The capital of Clovis was Soissons at first, then 
Paris in 508 ; but Soissons remained a royal residence for many 
generations, and there it was that the father of Charlemagne 
received the crown. It became a free city as early as 1131, 
began to build its cathedral soon after, suffered occupation by 
the English during the 100 Years' War... was taken and re-taken 
by their Allies in 1814, and finally captured by the Russians 
in 1815. The Prussians took it after a vigorous defence in 1870. 

The Population of the Depart., in 1906, was 534,495 inhab., 
the agricultural population being 405,000. The average den- 
sity is exactly that of France : 73 inhab. per sq. kilom. The 
Depart, numbers 5,500 Protestants, and 160 Jews. 



AISNE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

The "Chef-lieu" is Laon (15,288 inhab.), the " Arrondisse- 
ments" and "Cantons" being as follows (841 "Communes" in 
all) : 

Arrondissements. Cantons. 

Chateau-Thierry. Charly, Chateau-Thierry, Conde-en-Brie, 
Fere-en-Tardenois, Neuilly-Saint-Front. 

Laon Anizy-le-Chateau, Chauny, Coucy-le-Cha- 

teau, Craonne, Crecy-sur-Serre, La Fere, 
Laon, Marie, Neufchatel-sur-Aisne, Ro- 
zoy-sur-Serre, Sissonne. 

Saint-Quentin . . Bohain, le Catelet, Moy, Ribemont, Saint- 
Quentin, Saint-Simon, Vermand. 

SoissoNS Braisne, Oulchy-le-Chateau, Soissons, Vail- 

ly, Vic-sur-Aisne, Villers-Cotterets. 

Vervins Aubenton, La Capelle, Guise, Hirson, 

Nouvion, Saint-Richaumont, Vervins, 
Wassigny. , 

Agriculture. Plough-land 1,300,937 acres. 

Pastures 150,000 

Vineyards .:.> ; 5.875 

Woodland. . .■ 257,500 

Heaths, etc 20,000 

Roads, buildings, etc 107,500 

The foremost productions are cereals (the Depart, exports 
270,000 quarters of wheat yearly), asparagus, artichokes, beans, 
hemp, sugar-beets, rape-seed, osier, and flax. 

The wines are good " ordinaires" as a rule; but the " Cantons" 
of Chateau-Thierry, Charly, and Conde, belong to the champagne 
producing area. The total wine output in 1906 was 1,826,000 
gallons. 

Industries. — Peat : 12,000 tons yearly; freestone : 45,000 tons. 

Cotton and woollen tissues are staple industries of Saint-Quen- 
tin (8,000 looms), Bohain, Nouvion; Fresnoy-le-Grand manu- 
factures silk shawls, silk gauze, thread, etc. Saint-Gobain, 
founded 400 years ago, turns out 5,500,000 sq. feet of plate- 
glass (1/3 of total European production); the largest plates 
reach 380 sq. ft. The works, at Saint-Gobain, Chauny, and 
Cirey, occupy over 1,000 hands. 

Another remarka»ble establishment is the " Familistere" of 
Guise, founded by Godin, a former working man, and a 
disciple of Ch. Fourier. He left his fortune to his employees, 
whose 400 families live in healthy (if somewhat monotonous) 
buildings; the workers share in the profits, and are entitled to 
a pension. The "Familistere" turns out 4 million fr. worth of 
heating apparatus, and other articles in cast-iron. Guise again, 
^.nd several other places, produce steel (1,000 tons of sheet plate 

- 9 -^ 



AISNE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

in 1903) copper-plate files, agricultural implements, etc. Hirson 
and Origny specialize in basket-work, and have a drawing- 
school for their apprentices. 80 sugar factories (12,000 hands) 
produce 90,000 tons, Paper, vinegar, candles, boots, chemical 
works, etc., etc. Total steam-power of Depart. 2,075 engines : 
30,000 H.P. 

The Depart, has to import 931,000 tons of coals, 2/3 from 
Valenciennes, 1/3 from Belgium. 

Communications. 

34 Railway lines 1,040 kilom. 

National Roads 614 " 

Chemins vicinaux (good) 2,122 " 

— — (fair) 1,557 " 

Canals and Nav. Streams 350 " 

5,683 kilom. 

Population of places above 1,000 inhab. — Ambleny : 1,038; 
Anizy-le-Chateau : 1,130; Athies-sous-Laon : 1,046; Aubenton : 
1,179; Braisne : 1,520; Brancourt : 1,155: Buironfosse : 
1,910; La Capelle : 2,235; Charmes : 1,097; Chateau-Thierry: 
7,347; Chauny : 10,496; Chezy-sur-Marne : 1,109; Coincy : 
1,046; Crecy-sur-Serre : 1,834; Crepy : 1.560; Crouy : 1,418; 
Cuffies : 1,499; Dizy : 1,302; Essommes : 1,541; Estrees : 1,049; 
Etaves : 1,096; Etreaupont : 1,512; Etreillers : 1,036; Etreux : 
1,483; Fargniers : 2,351; La Fere: 4,745; La Fere-en-Tarde- 
nois : 2,690; La Ferte-Chevresis : 1,306; La Ferte-Milon : 
1,664 ; La Flamengrie : 1,270; Flavigny-le-Grand : 1,055 '> 
Flavy-le-Martel : 1,810; FoUembray : 1,717; Fresnoy-le-Grand : 
3,409 ; Gouy : 1,325 ; Guise : 7,776 ; Hargicourt : 1,574 '< Hirson : 
8,541; Homblieres : 1,105; Jussy : 1,314; Landouzy-la-Ville : 
1,050; Laon: 15,288; Lesquielles-Saint-Germain; 1,520; Liesse : 
1,277; Marie: 2,854; Mennevret : 1,781; Mondrepuis : 1,469; 
Mont-d'Origny : 1,026; Montbrehain : 1,604; Montcornet : 
1,547; Moy : 1,007; Nauroy : 1,202; Neuilly, 1,481; Nogent- 
I'Artaud : 1,590; Le Nouvion : 2,977; Origny: 2,461; Origny- 
Sainte-Benoite : 2,234; Fremont: 1,427; Premontre : 1,424; 
Quessy : 1,346; Ribemont : 2,627; Rozoy-sur-Serre : 1,352; 
Saint-Erme : 1,262; Saint-Gobain : 2,268; Saint-Michel : 5,140; 
Saint-Quentin : 52,768; Seraucourt : 1,404; Sissonne : 1,737; 
Soissons : 14,334; Tavaux : 1,140; Tergnier : 4,307; Treloup : 
1,404; Vailly : 1,812; Vaux-Andigny : 1,486; Vendeuil : 1,222; 
Vendhuile : 1,619: Vermand : 1,270; Vervins : 3,187; Vic-sur- 
Aisne : 1,002; Villeneuve-Saint-Germain : 1,126; Villers-Cotte- 
rets : 5,381; Viry-Noureuil : 1,558; Wassigny : 1,123. 

Among the notable personages born within the area of the 
Depart, are : Saint Remi (437-533), Bishop of Rheims, who 
baptized Clovis ; Saint Ouen (609-683), Archbishop of Rouen, 
and Chancellor of Dagobert I; Bertrade, mother of Charle- 

— JO — 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 

magne, d. 783; Prince of Conde, d. at Jarnac (see Soldiers) { 
Charles of Lorraine (1554-1611) leader of the Ligue; Jean de 
La Fontaine (see Literature) ; Jean Racine (see Literature) ; 
the three brothers Le Nain (see Painting) ; Alexandre Dumas 
senior, (1803-1370) etc. 

Books recommended. —Joanne, L'Aisne. (Hachette, i £r.) 

See also : Information. 



ALSACE-LORRAINE. — What exactly is the "Alsace-Lor- 
raine question " ? 

There is no " Alsace-Lorraine question. " In the words of 
Mr. Barthou : " Alsace-Lorraine, invaded 44 years ago, differs in 
no respect from the French " departements " invaded 3 years ago. " 

... Yet, the Germans claim that the Alsatians are of their race, 
that they simply have taken back what was their own... Most 
Alsatians bear Germanic names ; German is still spoken in many 
parts of Alsace... 

I. — The compound name was coined by the Germans after 
1 87 1 ; and the area it designates is a political unit of Germany s 
making. The official German name for it is Reichsland (Impe- 
rial property ; the common property of Germany). 

It consists of the long valley of the 111, which runs parallel to 
the Rhine (111 Sass : Alsace), and of a portion of the table-land of 
Lorraine, a totally different province. 

Alsace we partly acquired by conquest in 1648 ; Lorraine fell to 
the French Crown in 1 766, when its king, Stanislas, the father-in- 
law of Louis XV, died. 

II. — Lorraine, the second province to be annexed, was 
the more French of the two ; feudalism had kept the Lorrainers 
subjected to other princes than the King of France, but they 
had spoken French, and served in our armies, their manners and 
culture had been French for centuries. Paris had always been 
their intellectual and social capital. The whole province, through 
the influence of France, was one. The Revolution had divided 
it into 4 "departements" : Vosges, Meuse, Moselle, andMeurthe; 
in order to secure the fortress of Metz (fortified by Vauban), 
the Germans, in 1871, annexed part of Meurthe and of Moselle ;_ 
with what was left of those two Departments, we formed the 
present Meurthe-et-Moselle, "chef-lieu" : Nancy. About that 
portion of Alsace-Lorraine, there cannot be the slightest hesita- 
tion. What about Alsace ? 

III. — When we annexed it, we found it a mediaeval omnium 
gatherum of petty states and disconnected cities, linked by 
feudal bonds to a variety of rulers. Princes of the Holy Empire 
owned extensive lands, where they did not reside ; a village 
would be the only property of some local nobleman ; Austria ruled, 
nominally, Ensisheim and a dozen other boroughs ; the Bishop- 

— U — 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 

Princes of Strasbourg owned about 115 towns and villages, gov- 
eirned by the Regency of Saverne ; the Republic of Strasbourg 
possessed about 30 villages ; ten cities were independent repu- 
blics ; forty villages belonged to one Count de Ribeaupierre, a 
French absentee. In a word, Alsace was a mere geographical 




The Celts in Europe, about 300 B. C. 
The Germans assert that " might is right ", and then go back' on it at once, 
and try to prove that their conquests are justified on historical or pre-historical 
grounds. This map shows that the Celts, 300 years B. C, extended well beyond 
France into Germany and Austria. In France, they had displaced the Iberians. 
Therefore any Alsatians of Germanic descent must admit the priority of the mail 
French (Celto-Iberian) stork. 

expression. Germany at the time did not exist as a nation : there 
was simply a Germanic race. Did the Alsatians belong to it ? 
— Essentially not, for they are mostly Celts like ourselves ; 
like ourselves they had shared Gallo-Roman culture, and 
suffered under Prankish rule. Only an error of the Frankish 
rulers had severed them, for a time (see page 85), from their French 

■ kinsmen ; unfortunately, that time had lasted 800 years ; and 

■ their language as well as their habits, were unlike ours. Lost 
amid the Germanic nebula, they had preserved a taste for local 
independence, which our absolute kings had repressed in France ; 
they had acquired German dialects ; and a number of them were 
Lutherans. 

Their culture was provincial, neither French, nor properly 
German ; some of them spoke French ; they felt drawn towards 
Switzerland^ and formed indeed a buffer and a neutral region, 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 

IV. — The whole situation was so intricate that : i, we only ad- 
quired the possessions of the Holy Empire and those of Austria ; 
the rest of the land was tacitly placed under our influence, but 
remained officially under the same petty rulers, or enjoyed the 
same liberties, as before ; 2. the wise patient policy of the 
Capetians, and our national tolerance, took great care not to 
impose uniform law on that still amorphous province. The 
maxim of our governments in the xviith and even in the xviiith 
century, was : " Leave things Alsatian alone. " 

"By respecting the old boundaries", says Reuss, "the old 
administrative machineries, the traditions and language of the 
people, by never meddling with their schools, nor imposing any 
military service upon them, we left the masses under the bene- 
ficent illusion that nothing, or hardly anything, had changed, 
and thus the new regime could strike root, a little slowly 
perhaps, but all the more surely, without ever arousing any 
serious opposition, any conflicts of races or interests. Only 
in religious matters was it sometimes otherwise... 

So light indeed had been our hand, that when the time of the 
Revolution arrived, Mulhouse was still a republic, allied with 
Switzerland (not Germany !) ; Alsace still spoke her Germanic 
dialects; Strasbourg had maintained her privileges, and two-thirds 
of the population were still under foreign princes. Now that 
our hand was weakened, and the Austro-Germans threatened 
France, surely Alsace was going to slip her " bonds " ?... 
The very reverse happened; all Alsace became French voluntarily. 

V. — What were her motives ? One was that Alsace now had a 
soul, and that soul was French. She had been a raartyr in every 
great war (100 Years' War, religious wars, war against Burgundy, 
30 Years' War), and we had given her peace. Again, through the 
bonds which this peace and our own unity had formed, Alsace 
had gradually acquired unity ; her. spirit had asserted itself. 
Then again, after being No Man's Land for so long, she had 
become part of a great nation. For all this she was grateful. 

But her great motive, perhaps, was this : Alsace had remained 
more free than we were ; she suffered from the rule of absentee 
princes, whom we had not tried to remove, as long as we 
had ourselves been under similar bondage. When we set ourselves 
free from feudalism entirely, she saw that by joining us, 
she was at last going to liberate her soil from German feudalism. 

She sent 24 deputies to the " Etats Generaux" of 1789; on 
July 7, they presented to the Assembly an address from Stras- 
bourg, stating that " on the outskirts of the land they also shared 
in the general joy over the union of the representatives of the 
French nation from all classes... into one focus of light and power". 
On March 18, 1790, a solemn ceremony took place in Strasbourg,, 
an address to the Assembly in Paris being read : " On this; 
Esplanade, where our fathers gave themselves to France but 
regretfully, we come to cement with our oaths our union with 

— 13 - 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 

her. We have sworn and do now swear to shed our blood to th^ 
last drop in the defence of the Constitution. If the city of Stras- 
bourg has not had the honour to set the example to the cities of 
this realm, at least it shall have the glory to be, through the 
patriotic zeal of its inhabitants, one of the strongest bulwarks 
of French liberty. " 

" This was the day, " exclaimed a Protestant minister, on the 
first anniversary of the taking of the Bastille, "when we were 
freed at last from the heavy yoke of bondage ; when differences of 
rank and caste disappeared ; when the Papist and the Lutheran 
enjoyed the same rights. " 

From that time, French civilization ruled supreme in Alsace. 
Goethe learnt French in Strasbourg. The State schools of Napo- 
leon made French official; the other schools adopted it in 1820. 
Church and stage followed gradually. The Revolutions of 1830 
and 1848 further increased the influence of Paris over Alsace. 
Railways completed the unification. Under Napoleon III, the 
parish-schools propagated French among the peasantry. Even 
1870 could not stop this evolution : Alsace numbered more 
French speakers in 1914 than in 1870. Among scores of artists, 
writers, and scientific men that Alsace had given to us at the 
time, we may name the poet Ratisbonne, the critic E. Schure, the 
chemist Wurtz, Bartholdi, Gustave Dore, Henner. 

VI. — How the Alsatians took their annexation by Germany 
should be briefly recorded here. The treaty was concluded in 
two stages : the Provisional Government of Paris made an 
agreement, which included the cession of Alsace-Lorraine, 
subject to the approval of a National Assembly to be elected 
in the interval. The man who had most insisted on fighting to 
the bitter end was Gambetta : the Alsatian electors put him at 
the head of their lists in both "departements" of Alsace. The 
Assembly met at Bordeaux ; before it opened the discussion of the 
cession of Alsace, the 28 Alsatian deputies lodged a most vigorous 
protest: "By these presents we proclaim forever inviolable 
the right of the citizens of Alsace and Lorraine to remain mem- 
bers of the French nation, and we vow on our own behalf, and on 
that of our constituents, their children, and their descendants, 
to continue to lay claim to it forever and by every means, in the 
face of all usurpers. We are Frenchmen and wish to remain 
Frenchmen. " 

When, by a vote of 546 against 107, the Assembly had decided 
to ratify the cession, the Alsatians unanimously made another 
statement, saying: " We once more declare null and void a com- 
pact which disposes of us without our consent. " 

" The demand for the return of our rights will forever remain 
open to all and several, in the form and in the measure that our 
conscience shall dictate. 

" At the moment of leaving this hall of assembly, the thought 
we find supreme in our hearts is one of unalterable attachment 

— 14 — 



ALSACE-LORRAIKE 

to our native land, from which we have been violently torn away. " 

200.000 of the inhabitants of Alsace-Lorraine expatriated 
themselves immediately after the war. Many settled in French 
Lorraine, others went to Algeria. With the exception of those 
refugees, we had lost 2.000.000 citizens, whose fine character, 
hard-working habits, and liberal spirit, were most valuable assets 
to the nation. 

Three years after the war, when the people of Alsace-Lorraine 
had another opportunity of expressing their views by electing 
fifteen representatives to the German Reichstag, the first thing 
those members did was to enter a unanimous protest, which was 
read before the House on February 18, 1874, by Edouard Teutsch, 
member for Saverne : 

" Citizens who have a soul and a brain are not objects of 
barter. ... In electing us all, our constitutents desired above 
all to assert their sympathy for their French mother-country 
and their right to determine their own fate. " 

VII. - — Both these declarations hold good to-day as they did 
forty years ago. They have never been renounced by Alsace- 
Lorraine. It is true that the campaign of protest gave place in 
the 'nineties to a movement for self-government. If, however, 
anybody feels the slightest doubt about the nature of this 
second phase and about the present feelings of the Alsatians, 
let him inquire into the number of days of imprisonment, not 
counting death-sentences, that the German courts-martial 
have imposed on Alsace-Lorraine since the outbreak of the war. 

When we claim that Alsace must be French again, we appear 
selfish, because our interests coincide with justice ; but we 
feel that Alsace has a claim on us, even more than we have a claim 
on her. She is one of the oppressed nationalities of the world. 
We should have been sorry, but would have bowed to the fact, 
if Prussia had said to Alsace : " You are free now ; govern yourself 
as you please, " and Alsace had chosen to be an independent State, 
or even a member of the Empire. But the annexation was, and 
remained, brutal ; and we have always felt that just as we sym- 
pathized with Armenians and Poles, Boers and Finns, Coreans and 
Russian Jews, we must sympathize with our Alsatians. The 
fiction that they were Germans was disproved by the fact that 
they were not received into the German family as equals and 
with open arms, but treated as rebels who must be taught their 
Germanism under the Prussian drill-sergeant. Their home was 
brutally labelled Reichsland, Imperial Territory, as if it had 
been nothing more but the common property, the hostage, 
and the bond, of the accomplices in this crime. 

"And is not their whole country, " writes an Alsatian in America, 
" submitted to a kind of barbarous quarantine ? They cannot leave 
it except under the supervision of the police, and no one can enter 
it without meeting obstacles which frequently stand in the way of 
the most sacred family relations and duties... The use of the 

— 15 — 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 

t'rench language is forbidden, not only in the schools and in all 
public enactments, but even in the most ordinary business tran- 
sactions. " (Alsace through the ages, by Kaeppelin, Franklin, 
Penn.) 

Just one detail, showing the conditions in Alsace. Prussia, that 
nation of pedants and martinets, obliged every shopkeeper, when 
he had his shop painted again, to have none but German inscrip- 
tions on it. Therefore, many shops in Alsace have never been 
done up since 1871 !... Mean persecution on the one hand, silent 
resistance on the other, have gone on like this, in hundreds of 
ways, for 46 years. 

VIII. — Alsace is a moral problem, we believe, not to us 
only, but to the whole world. " We do not prolong the war for 
selfish reasons," said Mr. Pichon, our Foreign Secretary, 
speaking in the Chamber on December 27, 191 7, "the question 
of A.-L. is not a French territorial problem... According as it is 
solved in the French way, or in the German, there will be, or there 
will not be, a new Europe based on the principles and forces 
which lead contemporary nations. " 

On the same day, a member of our C. G. T. (General Labour 
Federation), Mr. Keufer, an Alsatian, stated : " The annexation 
of A.-L. has been the cause of the persistency of armaments in 
Europe, and of the constant menace of war. " There Mr. Keufer 
stated the facts of the past ; but the fate of Alsace-Lorraine 
involves a principle which means war in the future. If Germany 
is allowed to retain A.-L. it will mean that, after all, violence 
does pay. And no peaceful nation can be safe, no peaceful 
Europe, or world, is possible, so long as that principle is not 
contradicted by actual facts. 

IX. — A referendum has been suggested ; neutralization has 
been recommended as another solution. As no neutralization 
could take place unless it had been preceded by a referendum, 
both solutions are equally impracticable, as is shown by the 
following excellent paragraphs of Mr. Ph. Millet (Observer, 
June 10, 1917) : 

" As a matter of fact, the very idea of asking for a new referendum 
is as distasteful to a great many Alsatians as it is to the rest of 
the French nation. After what they have publicly proclaimed 
in 1 871 and 1874, and after their long and painful struggle against 
German rule, they feel as indignant as the inhabitants of Kent 
would be if they had been made a German province forty years 
ago, and were now invited to take a referendum before being 
reunited to England. 

" Even, however, if these legal and sentimental reasons did not 
stand in the way of a referendum, there remains the practical 
difficulty of such a consultation being organized at all. First of 
all, who in Alsace-Lorraine is going to be allowed to vote on the 
question ? According to the German census of 1910, as recorded 
in the Statistische Jahrbiicher fiir Elsass-Lothringen (1913- 

— 16 — 



ALSACE-LORRAINE 

1 91 4), there were at that time in Alsace-Lorraine, besides a native 
population of a little over 1,500,000 people, nearly 300,000 Ger- 
man immigrants. These immigrants had simply taken the place 
of at least an equal number of natives who had left their homes 
since 1871 as a consequence of annexation. No complete figures 
are officially available as to the extent of this emigration. It 
is only known that from iSyitoigio the excess of emigration over 
immigration was 267,639 people, of whom an average of 65 per 
cent, went to France ; also that the emigration movement, which 
had subsided from 1900 to 1905, went up again from 1905 until 
191 2, when the proportion of emigrants to France reached 68.57 
per cent., a proportion as high as in the seventies {Siatistische 
Jahrbiicher, 1913, pp. 43 and 45). 

" Now it is obvious to any unbiassed mind that if you had been 
driven out of your own house by violence and somebody else had 
taken your place, it is you, not the invader, who should be called 
upon by a righteous judge to say to whom the house belongs. A 
fair referendum can, therefore, only take place if the German 
immigrants in Alsace-Lorraine are deprived of the right to vote, 
while all the people of both provinces who have taken refuge in 
France are asked to share in the decision. This double condition, 
however, makes the task an almost hopeless one. Just to men- 
tion one of the minor points involved, it would have to be decided 
whether the son of a German immigrant in Alsace-Lorraine, 
if born in the Reichsland, is to be considered a native, and vies 
versa, whether the son of an Alsatian emigrant, if born abroad, 
is to have a vote. It is clearly impossible to start such a compli- 
cated registration in time of war, or even immediately after. A 
referendum would mean endless complications. 

"There is yet another difficulty. The question is : Who will 
govern the country while the people are going to the polls ? If 
it were the German administration, we know the Germans too 
well not to be sure of what would be the result. If the consulta- 
tion is to be a fair one, not only must the StatthaUer not be 
allowed to have his finger in it, but Alsace-Lorraine must be pre- 
viously cleared of all the German troops and all the officials, 
Prussian or otherwise, appointed by the German Government. 
Moreover, some neutral State must be found who could act as a 
sort of umpire, and therefore inspire both sides with the same 
confidence. I wish somebody could point out such an ideal 
neutral. 

" These are the main reasons why both the French Government 
and the French nation, apart from the Alsatians themselves, are 
determined not to allow any humbug of any sort to interfere 
with a matter that is to them dearer than life. If Alsace and 
Lorraine are to give expression to their will, let this step come 
after they have been freed from the Germans. Then and 
then only, the referendum will have a fair chance. Should the 
two provinces ask to be reunited to Germany or set apart as an 

SAILLENS 17 3 



ALSACE-LORR A INE 

ndependent State, there is not a man in France who would want 
to keep them against their wih. But about that one need not feel 
anxious. " 

X. — Here again is another aspect of the situation, which 
may commend itself to many readers. After 2,000 years, the 
Jews who have now become French, English, Portuguese, or 
American, are still regarded as morally entitled to the possession 
of Palestine. What about the Alsatians and Lorrainers (over 
I /7th of the population since 1871) who have left their home, 
rather than submit to alien rule ? In the U. S. alone, there 
are more than 200,000 citizens of Alsatian origin, who have 
proved their loyalty to France and Alsace by joining special 
patriotic societies. Must those people lose all hopes of ever 
feeling at home in Alsace, or at least knowing that their country- 
men are as free as themselves? Is the reader aware that, since 
this war began, 20,000 young Alsatians have deserted from the 
German army, and come to join our ranks, in spite of German 
vigilance and the punishment inflicted on their families in such 
cases ? Must these young men never see their homes again ? 

Either there is no meaning to this war (and no doubt we can 
make it meaningless if we choose) or its first object must be to 
make Alsace free ; not simply because it is French, but because, of 
all the oppressed nations which this war mtust liberate, Alsace is 
the most highly developed, the one that suffers most from any 
attempt on her liberty. Only Belgium can have the same claims 
on the world's help, but her case is so clear, that no one disputes 
it ; Alsace, on the contrary, has been the subject of so many lies 
or illusions on the part of Germany, that her position is particu- 
larly pathetic and dangerous : she is not easily understood, and 
one is tempted not to try to understand. She seems German 
outwardly, on some points ; yet her spirit is French. To suppose 
that Alsace is more German than the French assert, is to beg the 
question, to suppose that the problem is solved, which now awaits 
its solution : an easy way out of present difficulties, but a sure road 
to future trouble. 

Books recommended. — Delahache, La Carte au lisere vert (Hachette, 3 fr. 50) 
(essential). — H. Welschinger, La Protestation de I' Alsace-Lorraine en 1871 (Berger- 
Levr., o fr. 50). — Les Martyrs d' Alsace-Lorraine , d'aprcs les debats des Conseils de guerre 
allemands (Plon, 2 fr.). — M. Barres, Au Service de VAUemagne, Colette Baudoche. 
— Hansi, L'Histoire d' Alsace-Lorraine racontee aux petits enfants. — Abbe Wetterle, 
L' Alsace-Lorraine dolt rester franfaise (Delagrave). 

The plebiscite problem (Ligue republic. d'A L., o f. 25). — Edwards (M,-B.), 
Under the German Ban in Alsace-Lorraine (Tiie Wayfarers Library, 19 14) — 
Wetterle, French thought in Alsace-Lorraine (1915)- — Cowell (H,-J.), Alsace-Lor- 
raine. Past, Present and Future (London 1916). — Jordan (D.-S.), Alsace-Lorraine. 
A Study in Co'nguest. (Bobbs, Menil C°, Indianopolis). — Kelly, The Story of 
Alsace-Lorraine (i sh., London). — D. Blumenthal, Alsace-Lorraine. Introd. by 
Douglas W. Johnson (Putnams, 3 s.), etc. 

See also catalogue of the Librairie Alsacienne et Lorraine, 
I, rue de Medicis, Paris. 

— 18 -^ 



ARCHITECTURE 

ARCHITECTURE. — More than any other art, architecture 
is social ; its history on our soil is curious. 

Pre-Roman Gaul built probably nothing but huts ; the nomadic 
Celt was not quite settled nor properly organized. — - Roman Gaul 
had temples and schools, baths and villas, bridges and forts, 
theatres, arenas, and basilicas (law-courts) ; the " Maison Carrie " 
of Nimes, the theatre of Orange, the aqueduct over the Gard, 
and many other monuments mostly in the South, are as good 
examples of Roman architecture as can be found an3^where ; but 
they are monuments of Roman art in France, rather than works 
of French art proper. — The Franks could conquer, but were 
unable to organize ; the Church alone remained standing amid the 
general anarchy ; therefore all the buildings of the period are 
churches, barbarously imitated from the old Roman basilica. 
Classical art was gone; ashlar buildings and wooden roofs supersed- 
ed the freestone work and the vaults of the Romans. Norman 
raids and civil wars destroyed buildings and discouraged builders. 

At last, about looo A. D., i. e. one generation after the birth of 
Capetian France, Romanesque architecture revived. First in 
Auvergne, where the stock was pure and Roman tradition suffi- 
ciently preserved ; the style produced was simple and earnest to 
severity. Languedoc followed with more freedom and magnifi- 
cence (" Saint-Sernin ", Toulouse) and its influence entered 
Spain. Heavy and awkward in Poitou, proud and luxurious in 
Burgundy, restrained and almost classical in Provence, the 
" style roman " was generally clumsy, and tried to achieve height 
without having the means to do so. 

The great problem in stone-building is how to make vertical 
walls stand the lateral thrust of the heavy stone roof. 
Greek and Roman art had solved the problem once for all by 
determining the due thickness and height of the walls for a given 
width of roof ; from this calculation others had followed, so that 
when we discover to-day the base of a classical column, we can 
tell all the dimensions of the temple to which it belonged. — Fur- 
ther, classical buildings were never very high. — The French 
builders, having lost these canons, and being desirous of building 
high, produced at first buildings in which the thickness of the walls 
was so great as to be sometimes excessive, and counterforts which 
increased the resistance, and even more so the heaviness of the 
pile. The building was often higher, and yet always appeared 
more bulky than its Roman predecessor ; it had something pyra- 
midal in its outward aspect. It had however two main features 
in common with a Roman building : stones lay on stones, mainly 
in horizontal layers; in the second place the weight of the barrel- 
vaults or cupolas rested over the whole length of the walls, and as a 
consequence the walls had to be strong throughout, and the win- 
dows but few and small. Such a style might suit the South, but 
not the North. 

Gothic. — The North, owing perhaps to its "wild" energy 

— 19 -^ 



ARCHITECTURE 

and certainly to its local jealousies, aimed at building very 
high, and therefore was forbidden wide windows even more 
imperatively than the South. For a time, the North eluded the 
difficulty by keeping to wooden roofs. That early imperfect 
style, imported into England by William of Normandy, designed 
Winchester, Peterborough, Norwich, etc. At last, some unknown 
masons, or carpenter-masons, solved the problem of Northern 
architecture by applying to stone-building the methods of car- 
pentering. Instead of a solid mass, as compact as possible, 
they used a frame-work, which required a minimum of material, 
and therefore admitted a maximum of light ; at the same time, it 
became possible to alter the height or length of the building as 
required, and the lines of the structure were vertical. They found 
that if arches were thrown across the walls in diagonals, and a 
light vault was built in sections upon those arches, the total 
weight of the roof would bear exclusively on the points of the 
walls where the arches arose. At those points therefore pillars 
would suffice, and it became possible to have free spaces 
between the pillars. — Those "additional" arches {" augifs" 
"ogifs" "ogives "from L. augere), gave their name to the new 
architecture. 

But another invention of the Northern builders is equally 
remarkable. How would the pillars stand the lateral thrust 
of the arches ? — Not this time by the help of bulky, 
badly concealed counterforts, inert vertical masses, but by the 
support of light slanting props, the " flying-buttresses", which 
were not only visible, but worth seeing. Another feature of 
Gothic was the pointed arch ; the Romanesque arch had been 
semi-circular. But this difference, if noticeable, is not essential. 

Thus was achieved, about 1150, between Paris and Amiens, 
the architecture that was called " French " {opus francigenum) 
by the men of the Middle Ages, and spread from Flanders to 
Spain, and from England and Brittany to Germany, Hungary, and 
the Isles of Greece. It was nicknamed '■' Gothic " by the Italians 
of the Renaissance, who found it barbarous ; its " poems in 
stone " were rather unpleasant to the formal classical South. 

Indeed, political changes had their share in the variations of 
taste in architecture. The first Gothic churches were built in 
the Ile-de-France and Picardy ; portions of France which, although 
more amenable than Flanders to Roman ideals of absolute central 
authority, favoured however the Northern, and Gaulish, tradi- 
tions of local privileges and feudal independence. It was almost 
inevitable that, when a Louis XIV wielded, from his Northern 
capital, a power very similar to Roman imperialism, the mania 
for imitating Rome should have invaded even the arts. Gothic 
art had no share in the planning of the cathedral of Versailles, 
and Louis XIV could not pass Notre-Dame without a wish to have 
it pulled down. The word " Gothic ", in the xviiith century, 
in France, and even in England (we ruled European taste at the 

•r- 20 — 



ARCHITECTURE 

time), had the complex meaning of uncouth and northern, 
mediaeval and grotesque... We began to admire our Gothic mar- 

















A MONUMENT OF FRENCH ARCHITECTURE IN THE XVTH CENTURY : 

The gate of the Castle of ViTRfi (Brittany). 
Highforbidding walls, with a few loopholes, behind a deep moat. The stronghold is a 
small city on ahill. The fate of a whole Province may depend on this one fortress. Utility 
has presided over every detail; the high roofs are not mere ornaments, but landmarks. 

vels only when Romanticism, about 1830, cast a new light over 
our history. The " Notre-Dame " of Victor Hugo is the logical 
(though unwitting) continuation of " La Belle Dame Sans Mercy. " 



ARCHITECTURE 

As wars became less frequent, and secular life organized itself. 
the new style evolved from simplicity to splendour, and 
was applied to " chateaux " , law-courts, town-halls, and private 
buildings. Its " early " or " lancet " period practically dates 
from the reconstruction of St. -Denis Abbey (1137); the Cathedral 
of Notre-Dame of Paris, begun 26 years later, was completed 




French architecture in the xvith century : 

The Castle of Azay-le-Rideau (Touraine) 

The warrior has ■ become a courtier ; his residence is now a hospitable chateau. 

High windows open upon his well-laid park ; the grim battlements have become 

purely decorative. 



during the ' ' rayonnant ' ' period, when A miens, Chartres, and Rkeims 
were begun (ab. 1250). More ornate still are the Western portals 
of Rheims (1400) ; " flamboyant " uses stone and painted glass in 
such a way that the windows look like enormous fires, of dazzling, 
upward-winding flames (See :. Cathedrals). 

Renaissance. — The Gothic did not progress in France beyond the 
xvth century, while in England it gave' birth, after that period, 
to the Tudor style, and indeed has never quite fallen into disuse. 
Royal power with us had become overwhelming (Louis XI), and 



AftCHltECTURE 

we had invaded Italy (1499) ; the result was a national style 
in which the classical repose of the South had a share. 

National unification, the cessation of civil wars, brought about 
the substitution of " chateaux " (palaces or country-seats), for the 
grim strongholds of the Middle Ages. In the erection and embel- 
lishment of those happy comfortable houses ( " Chateaux de 
la Loire " ), the " flamboyant " was toned down gradually, 
and Italian ornament used more and more, until at last a new 




French architecture in the xviith century : 

A portion of the Palace of the Louvre (Paris). 

The King has now nothing to fear frona his subjects, and his home opens on the 

street. The fapade is all doors and windows; the ornaments of the xvith have 

disappeared ; they partook too much of barbaric days. Discreet statuary relieves 

the regularity of the straight lines and simple curves. 



style was evolved, which was quite different from the Gothic^ and 
yet was French in its comparative moderation. 

The XVIIth century was the age of reason and discipline ; 
even private buildings had something of the chilling grandeur 
which followed the gay freedom of the Renaissance. Appeal 
was made to the classical past ; the French architect used exclu- 
sively the elements provided by later Roman art as revealed to 
us by Italy : frontons, pilasters, caryatids, etc. ; in the combi- 
nation of those elements and their adaptation to the particular end 
in view the French artist displayed taste and feeling, French 
elegance, moderation, and symmetry. The " Louvre " of 
Pierre Lescot (1515-1578) was the first monument, and a master- 
piece, of this new school, from which practically all French 

- 23 - 



ARCHITECTURE 

architecture thereafter proceeded. The churches made usd 
of Gothic a little longer than the laity, then Renaissance orna- 
ment crept into the fa9ade of " Saint-Eustache " and " Saint- 
Etienne-du-Mont " (Paris), and shortly afterwards the cold 
Jesuit style imported direct from Italy built the churches of 
the " Sorbonne ", " Val-de-Grdce " , " Saint-Paul " . To that 
period belong the Palace of Luxembourg (Paris) by Salomon 
de Brosse, the Palace of Versailles by Mansart, another portion 
of the " Louvre " by Mansart and Perrault, the " Invalides " 
by Mansart, etc. 

A more pleasant style, and a more comfortable, was found in the 
private houses of the nobility under Louis XV ; the persistant 
symmetry of the fa9ades was relieved by bulging, florid balconies 
of gilt iron, and smiling goddesses and cupids, while the rooms 
behind them were smaller, and often round, or oval. Then it was 
that Gabriel designed the " Place de la Concorde ", the Military 
School in Paris, and the " Petit Trianon " . "Saint-Sulpice " 
tried to combine Gothic towers and classical elements, the 
" Madeleine " emulated the " Maison Carree " of Nimes, and 
Soufflot's " Pantheon " copied St-Peter's in Rome : all three 
artificial productions, and failures. 

By the early part of the XlXth century, lifeless imper.sonal 
architecture had invaded all our buildings. We returned to 
Gothic, restored churches that had been damaged gradually for 
over 300 years, or built new ones in the Gothic style (" Sainte- 
Clotilde ", Paris ; " Saint-Epvre ", Rouen) but Gothic was dead, 
outside the brains of the antiquaries ; it was costly, and an- 
swered modern requirements only imperfectly. The beauty of 
our streets became the main object of our artists ; Haussmann 
(1809-1891) greatly improved the aspects of Paris under Napo- 
leon III. New monuments have since been treated as elements 
in the general decoration (e. g. Opera, by Charles Garnier, 1875). 

A new material has come to hand, and we have made the most 
of it, as is proved by the Eiffel toiver. But iron, if convenient, 
is chilling, and the Palais of the Champs-Elysees conceal their 
iron frame-works behind stone fa9ades. 

On the whole, public buildings with us are more and more 
designed by science, rather than by art. Size, geometry, hygiene, 
and an impersonal method, content the public. The most success- 
ful effort of our modern architecture has been the building of 
thousands of small private houses, practically all different, 
around our great cities. Personal tastes, and circumstances of 
site, materials, etc., have created a number of new pleasant types, 
which display more variety than the corresponding British build- 
ings, mostly because in our case each house, and the ground on 
which it stands, belong to a different person. 

Books recommended. — A. Choisy, Histoire de V architecture (Rouveyre, 
2 vol.). — Courajod, Lefons professees d I'Ecole du Louvre (Picard, 3 vol.). — 

- 24 - 



ARMY 

UntSiTt, Manuel d'Archeologie frangaise : I. Architecture religieuse ; II. Architecture 
civile (Picard, 15 fr.). — Hourticq, Ars una. France (Hachette, 7 fr. 50). — 
J. Lahor, Les Habitations A bon marche et un art nouveau pour le peuple (Larousse, 
2 fr.). 

West (G.), Gothic Architecture in England and France (G. Bell & Sons, London, 
1911). — Pythian (J.-E.), French Gothic Architecture, with particular reference tc 
the Northern Cathedrals (1915). 

ARMY. — For military purposes, France is divided into 20 " Re- 
gions ", each contributing one Army Corps to the standing 
army. Algeria, on that point as on many others, is regarded as 
part of France and is a 21st Region. 

The strength of the French army actually in the ranks, in 1913, 
was : 

Infantry 418.000 

Cavalry 68.000 

Artillery. . . . ~v-- . . . . 104.000 

Engineers 25.400 

Flying Corps 3-397 

Transports 9.207 

Marines 31.310 

A. S. C 14.608 

a total of 674.292 Off. and O. R. 

giving, at mobilization, about 5 million men. 

Every able-bodied Frenchman is liable to military service from 
20 to 48 years of age ; he must serve : 

3 years in the " Armee Active ". 

II — "Reserve de I' Armee Active". 

7 — " Armee Territoriale " . 

7 — "Reserve de V Armee Territoriale (R.A.T.) ". 

While in the Reserve of the " Active ", he serves two periods 
of 21 days ; while in the " Territoriale " , one period of nine days. 

History shows that military service became more general, as 
nations became more conscious of themselves. Our case is no 
exception. Until 1445 (toward the end of the 100 Years'War), 
the French King had to engage the services either of his noblemen 
and their serfs, for a price, or apply to specialists, generally foreign- 
ers, who hired their troops and their services to him for a stated 
time and amount. Those troops had been recruited from the 
lowest classes of all parts of Europe, mostly Germany. They 
looted the French peasantry as willingly as the enemy, who was 
often a French vassal... Permanent cavalry was instituted first, 
then, in 1448, permanent French infantry. Five years later, the 
land was entirely reconquered. 

The first national army on the large scale now generally adopted 
was created by Prussia, after the invasion by the French in 1807. 

— 25 — 



FRENCH ARMY (Collars) 



a© 



Ir>f. (colour of coat). 



Cav.- (dark blue). 



Artillery (scarlet). 



Engineers ^ black 
velvet) , 



iHi 



Flying C. (orange). 



A. S. C. (grey Med. Off. 

velvet) . (crimson) . 



Chemist (green 
velvet) . 



I nsigt^ia. 



General Staff. 



Special Artillery 
Staff. 



Special Engineers 
Staff 



Heavy Artillery 



Colonial Infantery. 



Foreign Legion, 



Mountain Artillery. 



Flying Corps. 



A. S. C. Officers 



A. S. C. Officials. 



Courts Martial. 



Paymasters and 
Postmasters. 



Telegraph. 



Interpreters. 



hSl 



Wireless. Field Railways. Anti-Aircraft 



Motor-Mach.-Guns. 



- 26 - 



FRBNCH ARMY (Sleeves) 



I^stnlc^ • 




lA 





1^1 




■Soldatdeifeclss 
(Inf.). 



"Soldatdei'^^clBs 
(Cav.). 



Corporal 
(Inf.). 



'Sergent-Majo 



u 













^! 




G. O. C. 
Brigade. 



I xxjsig^tui a. 



C? 



Scovjtf 

iCav ,. 




tr 




Search- 
lights. 




N. C. O. Artillery. 

Machine Gun. observers. 



27 — 





lf^=^iw=a 



ARMY 

Napoleon had tried to break the miUtary power of Prussia, " whosfl 
national industry is war ", as Mirabeau put it so neatly. He 
therefore forbade Prussia to have more than a few thousand sol- 
diers. Prussia complied perforce with the letter of his law, but... 
although at any given time she never had more than the exact 
number of troops allotted to her, those were never the same men 
for more than a few months. Thus did the whole nation rapidly 
go through the mill, and in 1813, Napoleon was met by a homo- 
geneous, perfectly drilled force, of 250,000 men, who seemed to 
have risen from the soil by magic. 

Our present system was adopted, in its general lines, in 1872. 

Previous to 1870, everybody was called up, and drew a num- 
ber by lot. The lowest numbers, up to the requirements for the 
year, were taken. It was legal to " buy a man " to take one's 
place in the ranks. The duration of the service was 7 years. 

The law of 1872 called up for 5 years every young man of 21, 
the only sons of widows and students reading for certain exa- 
minations being exempted. In 1889, the 5 years were reduced 
to 3, and the categories previously exempted had to serve 
I year. In 1905, every man was called up for 2 years without 
any exemptions whatever. In 191 3, the 2 years were increased 
to 3, still without exemptions. 

The institution is entirely democratic and technical. Rank 
is given on purely military grounds. Mr. Briand is a private ; 
President Poincare is a lieutenant. Every man must begin as a 
private, and live in barracks ; after 6 months of special training, 
and a successful examination, the private can become a 
" caporal " (unmounted troops), or a " brigadier ". As a rule, 
it takes a year to make a " brigadier " of the Artillery, or a 
"caporal " of the Engineers. After another minimum of 6months, 
the caporal may become a " sergent ", and the "brigadier " a 
" marechal des logis " . 

Then they may rise again to " sergent fourrier " or " mare- 
chal des logis fourrier" (stores, ammunition, billets, and signall- 
ing), and to " sergent-major " or " marechal des logis chef 
(book-keeping, office-work, platoon commander). If they wish 
to stay in the army they must re-enlist for 2, and then for 
5 years. They can then become " adjudant " and " adjudant- 
chef " (the senior N. C. Os. in a Company), or read for military 
schools where is given general and technical instruction. 

Officers belong to two main categories, and are recruited from 
four sources. 

The "offieiers de reserve" — civilians commanding units in 
war-time. — are recruited from N. C. Os. who pass a compe- 
titive examination at the expiration of their active service, and 
are called up again for 21 days every other year. 

The "offieiers d' active " — regular— are either graduates from 
the military schools of St. Cyr, etc., who entered the Army as 
.2nd Lts. ; or former privates and N. C. Os. who became cadets 

- 28 - 



ARMY 

{"aspirants") by competitive examination, and received theit 
commission after a period of training and probation ; or again 
former N. C. Os. who after serving two years at least as 
N. C. Os., entered by competitive examination some special 
schools (St. Maixent, etc.) which they left as lieutenants. 

The organization, downwards, is a follows : 

A " Corps d'Armee", under a " General Commandant le Corps 
d'Armee " , consists of " Divisions " . 

A "Division" as a rule comprises : 2 Inf. Brigades, i Artillery 
Regt., I Squadron of Cavalry, Engineers, etc. 

A " Brigade " consists of 2 " Regiments " . 

The Regiment, under a "Colonel" , or a "Lieutenant-Colonel" , is 
the fundamental unit ; every private belongs to a regiment, located 
in one given town, paraded and marched in the same manner, etc. 
Ithasi2 "Compagnies", grouped into2"Bataillons". The Batta- 
lionis under a "Commandant (M.a]or)with a smallstaffof N.C.Os., 
and every Company under i "Capitaine" , and 2 "Lieutenants" . 

The N.C.Os. of a Company of 125 men (250 in war-time), are : 
the "adjudant", the "ser gent-major" and his "fourrier" , assisted 
by a " caporal d' ordinaire " (cooks'), 4 sergeants commanding 
" sections ", and 8 corporals commanding " escouades " . 

I corporal is in charge of the Coy's transport; i officer, with 
a proper number of N.C.Os. and men, are in charge of the 
machine-guns of the Battalion. 

To sum up, a "Regiment d'lnfanterie" , is composed of 2,000 
men in peace-time, distributed between : 3 " Bataillons ", 12 
" Compagnies ", 24 " Pelotons" , 48 "Sections ",96 "Escouades ". 

The pay of a 2nd. Lt. is I 600 a year. The soldier's pay 
has been raised during this war to 25 centimes a day ; it used 
to be 5 (i cent). This purely nominal pay works, in peace-time, 
better than one would suppose : instead of paying more taxes to 
the State, each family provides for its own boy direct. The very 
poor, orphans, etc., generally manage it quite well, as officers' 
servants, grooms, privates' batmen, cooks, canteen helps... 

Reveille sounds at 5 A. M. in summer, 6 in winter. A pannikin 
of hot coffee is brought to the men straight from the kitchen into 
their dormitory by the man in charge of the room for the day. 
This, and some bread, hastily swallowed while dressing, or lei- 
surely taken in bed on more favourable days, is the breakfast. 
Drill follows. At 10, soup, meat, and potatoes, (the national 
" pot-au-feu "), some jam, or cheese, and water, are consumed in 
the refectory. More drill. At 5, a " ragoAt" (stew) and more 
water, are issued. Then the men may stroll in town ; they may 
leave at 5 if they can afford restaurants ; but all must be back by 
9 ; and all lights are out at 10. 

French Kings always had some foreign troops in their pay. 
Charles VII, who instituted our first national force, had a Scotch 
body guard (See Races...). The Swiss replaced the Scotch, and 
the last Swiss Guards did not leave France before 1 830, 

- 39 — 



ARMY 

We now have the "Legion ^irangere " (instituted 1792) 
which is a sort of refugium peccatorum, a military purgatory, 
which any man may enter if he is fit m body and wil mg to fight 
Many of the men are Germans, who fled the brutal methods of 
their chiefs ; many are Alsatians, Some were officers at one time, 
« somewhere in Europe », and had to disappear from their 

circle... and many were 
impelled by a taste for 
adventure, or a desire 
for sacrifice. One-third 
are French. 

Shortly after the 
death of one " legion- 
naire ", a man-of-war 
of a great allied nation 
steamed to the nearest 
point of the wild coast 
where the men were 
fighting, and received 
the body with the 
honours paid to impe- 
rial blood. 

At the death of an- 
other, the captain asked 
if any man could say 
a few words over the 
body, as there was no 
chaplain near. One 
man stepped forward, 
and went through the 
Catholic Service for the 
Dead in truly profes- 
sional style : he had 
been a priest. 

The " Legion " has 
done extremely well in 
this war, and wears the 
red " Fourragere. " (See 
Decorations.) 

Napoleon on war. — 




Xouave 



Alpine 
Chasseur 



Marine 




Alpine Cliiasseurs oti " slus* 



A FEW UNIFORMS OF THE FRENCH ArMY. 



" The art of war consists in having, with an army inferior 
in numbers, always more men than your enemy on the point 
attacked by him or by yourself ." 

" The first qualities of the soldier are constancy and discipline; 
valour comes only second ." 

" War is cruel to the nations, but its results are terrible for the 
vanquished ." 
SookS recommended. — Lt. CErtle, Organisation de I'arm'e franfaisc (Berger- 

- 3^ - 



ARTS 

Levrault, o fr. 75.) — Capt. Ch. Romagny, liistoire generale de' Varmee nalionale 
J2i4-i8g2 (Berg.-Levr., 3 fr.). — Capt. Hanguillart, Petit Guide pratique 
de guerre pour ma compagnie (Berg.-Levr., o fr. 60). — Capt. Erlande, En Campagni 
avec laLegion Etrangire (Payot, 3 fr. 50). — Capt. Frolle, La Marsouille (the marines), 
(Payot, 3 fr. 50). • — Etat miUtaire de toutes lesnaiions du monde en igi4 (Berg.-Levr., 
I fr. 50). — General Maitrot, Les armies jranfaise et allemande (Berg.-Levr., 
19x4, I fr.). — Singley, L'Infanterie de Marine (Berg.-Levr., 6 fr.). — GaL Grisot, 
La Legion EVangere 1831-1887 (Berg.-Levr., 10 fr.). 

Millet (P.), Comrades in Arms. Trausl. by Lady Frazer (Hodder & Stoughton, 
i9i6).' — Ex-Trooper, French Army from within (Army from within Series, 1914). 
(Everett), — F. Martyn, Life in the Legion etc., etc. 

See also the catalogues of : Berger -Levrault, Paris and i^ancy ; 
Chapelot, Paris; and Ch. Lavauzelle.Paris. 

ARTS. — It is fairly easy to define the characteristics of art in 
Greece, Holland, Spain, or Italy ; easier still to state the moment 
when each of those countries reached the perfection of its art. 
But French art escapes definition, as much as our history or our 
race, and it is as impossible to state when it really attained its 
highest point, as to say at what time we were most truly ourselves 
in politics or philosophy. 

Indeed, the best way to classify our works of art is undoubtedly 
to group them under periods, coinciding with stages of our national 
evolution. Then the following essential points become quite 
clear : 

a) Owing to the general wealth of our soil, our artistic pro- 
duction has been exceptionally continuous and abundant. (The 
practice of any art implies the release of much accumulated 
energy ; general poverty is unfavourable to it.) 

b) The diversity of our climates and races has allowed us to 
practise successfully every form of Western art. 

c) We have been able to learn from all our neighbours, and to 
influence them all, owing to that same diversity. Our situation 
being central, this meant European expression and influence. 

d) This many-sidedness was not uniformly apparent at all 
times; the different gifts asserted themselves at different periods. 
Either one art took precedence over all others, or, in all arts, 
similar traits became predominant. For instance : in painting, 
colour may prevail over design, or inversely ; the gift of colour 
is more generally found in the North ; as a rule, it remains a gift 
(some men can be taught to draw, but most men remain hope- 
lessly colour-blind, from the artistic point of view). Now, when our 
political circumstances have caused discipline to prevail over 
freedom, design has asserted itself, and the South with it, in the 
history of our painting ; the gift for colour still existed, but had 
to await a more favourable opportunity. 

e) All life being rhythmical, a recurrence appears in the evolu- 
tion of our arts ; but life never retraces its steps, and therefore 
every period has been different from the last but one, 

- 31 - 



BAPAUME 

f) Our political unity being thej oldest and deepest in Europe, 
a certain standard remained apparent, in spite of those changes ; 
one element never predominated to such an extent that the 
others were entirely absent. Balance is perhaps the charac- 
teristic of our arts. Nor is this balance attributable to our national 
unity o^ily ; it is partly due to our traditional dislike of pure 
emotion (a personal temporary factor) ; in our arts, as in our 
literature, the mind remains the great task-master who selects 
and combines the means of expression, ensuring due proportion, 
order, restraint, saving contrasts. Emotion may provide the 
loftier purpose, but must remain the key-note of the melody ; 
that, but no more ; as to manual skill (very common in France), 
it is expected to do its best, but must keep in the back-ground ; 
an excellent pianist may be a bad composer, and a worse critic. 
Perfect art is neither " mere genius ", nor " mere cleverness ": 
it stands in a middle region where the Frenchman is at home. 

The actions and reactions of those several factors will better 
appear in the various chapters on Architecture, etc. Their net 
result has been that, while some other nations have given to the 
world artists who rank as high as any of our, own, the bulk of 
our artistic production stands unparalleled in continuity, variety, 
and influence. 

Books recommended. — Andre Michel, L'Histoire de I' Art (Colin, 15 fr. a vol.). 

Hourticq, Ars Una. France. Full bibliographies and 943 illustrations. (Hachette; 

7 fr- 50). 

BAPAUME. — It was a small city of hardly more than 3,000 ; 
but, like most cities of Picardy, it had strategic value, and its 
history has been proportionately dramatic. 

In the xvth century, Louis XI burnt it down, like Arras. In 
the xvith, Charles V of Spain captured it, and made it his bul- 
wark against Peronne, which was at the time the stronghold of 
the French. Francis I besieged it successfully in 1537. The 
" Ligue " gave it to the Spanish ; it was besieged and taken, 
in 1 64 1, by a general of Richelieu, finally made French by the 
treaty of 1659, and fortified by Vauban. The " Allies " occupied 
it in the xviiith and xixth centuries ; Napier was Camp- 
Commandant of Bapaume as late as 1817... 

The old ramparts were demolished in 1847. In 1870, our 
"Armee du Nord" under Faidherbe, defeated Prince Albert of 
Prussia just outside the little city. (It was the same army that 
fought the Prussians at Pont-Noyelles, between Albert and 
Amiens.) 

Such a history partly accounts for the great presence of mind 
of the people is this war : they know all about invasion. They 
know what to expect, and what is worth, or is not worth doing. 
As long as the land is theirs, and they are able to work it, they 
are ready to endure almost anything. Houses are soon built again, 

- 32 - 



feAYONEt 

S,nd it is no more use making them too durable than crying over 
their disappearance. (The wanton destruction of fruit-trees is 
quite another matter.) 

The staple industries of Bapaume were... mus in and lawn; 
does not this remind one of that starling described by Sterne as 
singing in its little cage between the awful walls of the Bastille, 
and of "butterflies broken on wheels " ? 



BAYONET. — Said to have been invented at Bayonne, in the time 
of Richelieu. It replaced the pike, and was a blade of steel fixed 
inside the muzzle of the gun. Some companies were armed with 




The Lion of Belfort (see next page). 
Carved in the face of the rock at the foot of the fortress, 
standing near the Lion. 



Note the two men 



it as early as 1642. It was issued to one full regiment in 1671. 
In 1 701, a means was found at last to fix it alongside the barrel ; 
two ye ars later, Vauban issued it to all infantry troops. 

The " bai'onneite " is the favourite weapon of our infantry. The 
shape of the French bayonet is such that it can pierce easily, but 
cannot cut. 

" The bayonet has always been the weapon of the brave and 
the main instrument of victory ; it is the one that suits French 
soldiers best. " (Napoleon.) 

Books recommended. — Le Combat d la ba'ionnette (Berger-Levrault, o fr. 75).— 
A larger treatise by Capt. Gauchet (snme publ i fr. 25). 

SAILLENS 33 3 



BELFORT 

EELFORT. — The fortress of that name and the small territory 
adjoining, are all that was left to France, after 1871, of the 
province of Alsace. It was excluded from annexation on account 
of its splendid defence ; its commander. Col. Denfert-Rochereau, 
had held it from the early part of the war until the last day. 

A gigantic lion, carved in the rock of the fortress by Bartholdi, 
the French artist who executed the statue of " Liberty " of 
New York harbour, is the proud memorial of that defence 
(see illustr. page 33). A bronze replica of that lion, on a moderate 
scale, can be seen in Paris, on the "Place Denfert-Rochereau ", 
near the entrance to the Catacombs. 

BOURGEOIS — The word is often used, because it has many 
meanings. To an artist, the " bourgeois " is the hateful Philis- 
tine. To the manual worker, he is the man who never takes off 
his coat at his work. To the historian, he is that middle class 
which patiently achieved the overthrow of the aristocracy. 

Indeed, it is difficult to define or explain the bourgeois of 
present times without some reference to his origins. He was 
not a " citizen ". The citizen was a perfectly free man, belonging 
to the aristocracy of the great independent centres of Roman 
days. The first ••bourgeois " were peasants, who left their unsafe 
scattered cottages, and clustered around the fortresses (Germ. 
Burg) of some knights, thus gradually forming " bourgs " 
(boroughs). Their ranks were continually swelled by other 
peasants, and they gradually became strong enough for self- 
defence. Hence their desire to pay less and less for a protection 
which they less and less required. They greatly contributed to the 
rise of absolute monarchy, as they so frequently appealed (spe- 
cially from the xiith century), from their feudal lords to their 
common liege the King. 

Between an ever-oppressed peasantry, and an ever-free aristo- 
cracy, they were the slow-moving, rising class, consisting of offi- 
cials, well-to-do farmers, merchants, doctors, and lawyers. The 
lawyers were the most active ; they alone knew exactly how to 
substitute justice for caprice, and provide the Iving with legal in- 
struments against the unruly knights. This complex character 
of a continuous rise, by work, brains, and money, within legal 
limits, is the essence oi "bourgeoisie" . Hence the slow and sure 
methods, the matter-of-fact habits, ridiculed by artists, who leap 
at new ideas, and take risks gladly. _ Hence the satire of Moliere, 
who reminds "Monsieur Jourdain" that he wants to rise too fast. 
Hence also, since the Revolution, a growing dif&culty in assigning 
definite limits to the " bourgeoisie "as a class. Our nobles 
are gradually led to making money, while few of our peasants 
or artisans do not dream of making ••bourgeois" of their sons 
No class is absolutely stable, and every class believes in legal 

- 34 " 



BOURGEOIS 

methods ; therefore, although some individuals and trades a.ri 
still regarded as below bourgeois status, all classes are permsated 
with the bourgeois spirit. 

What is exactly tbe bourgeois, status ? Money is no sufficient 
distinction: a badly paid official may be a bourgeois, when a rich 
farmer may be but a peasant. Education of course is an import- 
ant factor ; yet, the young counter-jumper who knows nothing 
but the prices of his cloth, regards himself as socially superior 
to the mechanic who understands electricity and modern machi- 
nery. In this case, the fact that the former always wears decent 
clean clothes, and never soils his hands, is predominant. On the 
whole, it might be said that the unconscious distinction lies be- 
tween those who mostly depend for their livingon physical exertion 
and those who do not. But the very word "most" shows how lax 
the distinction must be, in individual cases. 

At the "Eiats generaux" oii^oi, the "feoMyg'eofs"upheld the King 
against the Pope (see Religion), asserting that the King of France 
must have "no temporal ruler save only God only ". In 1356, 
after the defeat of Poitiers, the indignant ' ' bourgeois ' ' asked that the 
nobles, having betrayed their charge, should be deprived of their 
power, and the country ruled by Kin hand Parliament. As the 
clergy and nobles successfully opposed- this proposal, a general 
rebellion of the cities began, led by theParis merchant and mayor, 
Etienne Marcel ; the peasants joined them; this first revolu- 
tion was cruelly repressed, but the doctrines of democracy surviv- 
ed. The Etats of 1484 statee that " Kingship is an office, not 
an heirloom ", and that " th sovereign people, originally, had 
created all kings ." From theclear-headed, practical bourgeoisie, 
were selected the great ministers of our kings, from Michel de 
I'Hopital (our Thomas Morus) to men like Colbert or Turgot. 
Yet, in 1789, the deputies of the "JioMyg'eoJsie" complained to the 
King that, whilst the Church and the nobles enjoyed all the privi- 
leges of the eldest born, their own class was treated with the utter 
indiiierence offered to youngest sons in those days. To this 
the members for the aristocracy retorted : " We will not have the 
sons of shoe-makers and cobblers call us brothers ; there is as 
^much difference between them and ourselves, as between valets 
and masters. " 

Our revolutions could not have succeeded without the vigorous 
action of the people, but the leading principles came from the 
middle class, as well as the new organizations of the national 
life immediately following upon such upheavals. 

Books recommended. — Vavasseur, Qu'est-ce que la Bourgeoisie? (Fontemoing, 
I fr.). — Bardoux, La Bourgeoisie jranfaise. 



Z5 — 



*' CAFES'' AND "RESTAURANTS*' 

" CAFES " AND " RESTAURANTS ".— " Cafes " are our clubs, 
where we are sure to meet the same friends at the same hours, and 
to be served at the same table by the same waiter ; ■ — our back 
offices, where we negociate a difficult piece of business over a quiet 
glass ; — their " terr asses " are the jetty-heads from which 
we command the surging crowd of the boulevards, as it ebbs or 
flows to or from the play-houses, or runs and laughs and screams- 
on festive "Mavdi-Gras" 2in6."Mi-Caremes" .now and then punish 
ing the indolence of the onlookers by splashing themwith its foam : 
confetti ! There can we write our correspondence on the 
paper provided by the establishment, until such time as our wives 
have done their shopping, or our sweet-hearts return from their 
music lessons. 

They provide for almost every need of man. Most of them are 
reistaurants as well ; many will offer you songs and dances after 
d°nner ; in others you are sure to watch the best games of chess, 
billiards, or skittles in the capital ; by taking a glass of beer 
at such a one, you may hear, to your heart's content, the great 
poet B... discuss the laws of rhythm, (or the new fashion in bodices), 
with some members of his " chapelle " ; at such another, S..., the 
famous tragedian, holds his levees; retired majors play a violent 
game of bridge at some " Cafe de la Paix ", while quiet students 
talk philosophy, beneath fair eyes, in the gloomy recesses of some 
other well-known Hall of Gambrinus. 

Choose, and enter ! But, being in France and in a " cafe ", ask 
for any drink you please except wine, or coffee. That is the 
fundamental paradox of French "cafes". If you ask for wine, 
the waiter will stare, then smile ; a " cafe " is not a " bistro " 
(a " pub "). If you ask for coffee, he will bring you a tepid brown- 
ish fluid which is best left alone. However, just after meals, 
you may venture to ask for a " special ". If you have chosen your 
" cafe " wisely, the waiter will bring you a little filter all for 
yourself, with fresh coffee dripping from it into the glass below. 

Coffee was first introduced into France by Thevenot, in 1657 ; 
it was then worth £ 5 16 s. a lb. The first "cafes" followed soon; 
literary " cafes " were in vogue as early as 1714. 

As to "restaurants" , they were instituted by one Boulanger in 
1765. On the door of his shop was a Latin inscription : " Come 
unto me, all ye that are troubled in the stomach, and I will 
restore you. " 

Your happiness, in cafe or restaurant, will greatly depend on 
your tips. If they are too high, you will be regarded as the care- 
less millionaire, who might have given more. If they are too 
low !... Give 10 %. 

Books recommended- — Courteline : Un Client serieux. — and Tristan 
Bernard's light comedy : Le Petit Cafe. 

Gilson (C), Among French Inns. (Hodder & Stoughton, 1906). 



36- 



CATHEDRALS 

CATHEDRALS — We have only 84 Archbishops and Bishops 
to-day, but French sees were more numerous on the eve of the 
Revolution, and even then some changes had already taken place 
in the ecclesiastical distribution of the country ; so that we possess 




\ojRL Daml ot Paris. 
Twice as wide, twice as long, and tour times as high as the Parthenon. This facade 
rises 223 feet above present Pans; as the level of old Pans was much lower, Notre- 
Dame used to stand at the top of a flight of 13 steps. The fagade consists of the 
3 gatfs of the eastern side (other gates N. and S.) ; then a gallery, of 28 statues 
of French Kings. Over this gallery, two wide windows each including two ogives 
and a rose; between them, a rose of stone and glass 40 feet high, and above them 
an elegant colonnade ; then the towers. The windows in those towers are higher than 
the seven-storied house of modern Paris in the left of the picture. The towers are 
not identical ; they try to give the impression that they are, but they have no right 
to be; only the Cathedral of Ly^ns, first Christian City and Roman capital, is 
entitled to this dignity. The high sharp spire at the back rises just over the inter- 
section of nave and transepts. 

-37- 



CATHEDRALS 



138 cathedrals : 54 at the former sees of : Agde, Alais, Aries, 
Auxerre. — Bazas, I3eziers, Blois. — Cite de Carcassonne, Castres, 
Chalon-sur-Saone, Condom. — Dax, Die, Digne, Dol. — Elne 
Embrun. — Gap, Grasse. — Laon, Lavaur, Lectoure, Les- 
car, Lisieux, Lodeve, Lombez. — Maillezais, Mirepoix, Mou- 
tiers. — Narbonne, Noyon. — Oloron, Orange. — Riez. — Saint- 
Bertrand-de-Comminges, Saint-Lizier, Saint-Malo, Saint-Omer, 
Saint - Papoul , Saint-Paul-Trois-Chateaux , Saint-Pol-de-Leon, 
Saint-Pons-de-Thomieres , Saintes, Sarlat, Senez, Senlis, Sis- 
teron. — Toul, Toulon, Treguier. — Uzes. — Vaison, Vence, 
Vienne. 

and 84 at the present archbishoprics and bishoprics of : 



(archbishoprics 

Paris . 
Aix . . 
Albi . . 
AucH . 
Avignon 
Besancjon 
Bordeaux 

BOURGES. 

Cambrai . 
Chamb^ry 
Lyons . . 

Rheims . 
Rennes . 
Rouen. . 
Sens. . . 
Toulouse 
Tours . . 



(bishoprics) 

Chartres, Meaux, Orleans, Blois, Versailles. 

Marseilles, Frejus, Digne, Gap, Nice, Ajaccio. 

Rodez, Cahors, Mende, Perpignan. 

Aire-sur-l'Adour, Tarbes, Bayonne. 

Nimes, Valence, Viviers, Montpellier. 

Verdun, Belley, Saint-Die, Nancy. 

Agen, Angouleme, Poitiers, Perigueux, La Ro- 
chelle, Lufon. 

Clermont-Ferrand, Limoges, Le Puy, Tulle, 
Saint-Flour. 

Arras. 

Annecy, Albertville, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne. 

Autun, Langres, Dijon, Saint -Claude, Gre- 
noble. 

Soissons, Chalons-sur-Marne, Beauvais, Amiens. 

Quimper, Vannes, Saint-Brieuc. 

Bayeux, Evreux, Seez, Coutances. 

Troyes, Nevers, Moulins. 

Montauban, Pamiers, Carcassonne. 

Le Mans, Angers, Nantes, Laval. 



Our cathedrals are practically all built on the same plan, which 
is an adaptation of the Roman basilica to the requirements and 
inspirations of Christian worship. When, through the conversion 
of the Emperor Constantine, in 313, the Christians were able to 
worship publicly, they had no churches of their own, and used 
the largest public building of the time : the basilica, or lawcourt, 
which consisted of one or several long naves at the end of which 
sat the judges. By the xth century, the basilica had assumed 
the shape of a cross, by the addition of two " transepts " ; a tower 
at the gate served as bell-house and land-mark. How that fun- 
damental type, evolved from one original building and one reli- 
gion, came to develop into so many varieties, is explaioed under 
Architecture. 

-38- 




In •'I I E VIEW OF Notre-Dame of Paris. 
SLo\M!.o, I. t!„ ,.„„.^.,„rk scheme of Gothic architecture; 2. the grand simpli- 
city of early Gothic; no statues, very little carving; the building is supported by 
plain heavy pillars; 3. how the weight of the vault is divided so as to bear on the 
pillars only. 



CATHEDRALS 

Most of our cathedrals were begun in the xiith and the xiiith 
centuries ; few 'are older ; some, like Versailles, or Vence, were 
entirely or largely erected as late as the xviith and xviiith. 
Few of the older ones are quite finished ; they often have no 
spires (Notre-Dame de Paris, Amiens), or only one (Dol, Auxerre), 
when two were distinctly intended by the original architect. 
Further, as they were built over long periods, in no case has the 
original plan been adhered to : one of the spires of Chartres 
belongs to the xiiith, the other to the xvth ; the latter is not a 
replica of the former. But their incompleteness and composite 
character heighten, rather than diminish, the beauty of Gothic 
churches ; they are best compared with natural growths, and 
nobody would expect the trees in a forest to be " all complete " 
and identical . 

The Frenchman who first made a thorough study of Gothic art, 
and as a consequence was employed on the restoration of several 
of our cathedrals, was Viollet-le-Duc. They were still more 
or less picturesque, in spite of the cruel improvements of the two 
preceding centuries; he made them more "nice and clean" than 
they had ever been, did not hesitate to replace old statues by 
new or to carry out what the original architects " must " have 
intended, etc... Notre-Dame and Amiens suffered a good deal at 
his hands. 

The great difference between the Gothic church, the highest 
product of Western art, and its predecessors, is that while the 
latter were content to be as useful as possible, by accommodating 
a great many people, and being fortresses as well as places of 
worship, the Gothic church fills the two requirements and is a 
poem as well : the people's book, expressing in terms of architec- 
ture the ideals and facts of the religious life of the times. Notre- 
Dame can accommodate 7,000 people, and could stand a siege ; 
but, at the same time,' it tries to " rise " as high as it can ; the 
ogive is a device for obtaining height and the impressioo of 
height. Not only is the plan of the church in the shape of a cross ; 
in some cases, the choir slightly deviates from the axis, as the 
head of Our Lord must have turned aside when he was crucified. 
The string of little chapels all round the choir are His crown. The 
three gates are the symbols of the Holy Trinity, The altar is 
under the eastern windows, so that the people face Jerusalem 
when they face the altar ; they face Golgotha when the priest 
holds up the Host, and they bow their heads... On the pavement, 
a maze of coloured stones allows them to pray on their knees all 
the way to the centre of the maze, which they call Zion... The 
pillars are the apostles and martj^rs; and not only the designs, 
but the very colours in the windows, have mystic meanings ; 
every plant and animal shown in the decoration has a message 
to the soul or the mind, 

— 40 — 



CATHEDRALS 

They were not imagined by a few individuals, but by a race; 
norwere they intended exclusively for worship, but for business and 
pleasure as well ; specialization was less developed than to-day, 




Abside of Notre-Dame of Paris. 
Showing how the flying-buttresses complete and support the general frame-work 
(there are no proper walls here). Note that one series of buttresses press against 
the upper portion of the frame-work while other buttresses below them press oij 
intermediate points as well. 

— 41 ^ 



CATHEDRALS 



the result was mysterious harmonies, and amusing contrasts. Tha 
builders would give a block of stone to a shepherd, and let him 
carve what he liked, while he tended his sheep ; some extraordi- 
nary gargoyle, or cynical monk, was the outcome. A window 
was offered by a corporation, and the arms of the guild figured 
in the design. Chartres was built by the whole population of 
Beauce, who came and lived about the new walls ; the men would 
place the stones, the women drew water for the mortar made by 
the boys ; rich people provided food, and the priests distributed 
it. As to the architects of those churches, most of them have 
not left even a name. 

The finest of our cathedrals, and the dearest to us, was Rheims, 
which has been shelled intermittently since the beginning of this 
war. 

Ever since 496, when Clovis our first King was baptized there, 
the church at Rheims had remained the royal sanctuary. Napo- 
leon chose to be crowned in Notre-Dame, but Charles X received 
his crown in Rheims in 1825. The building now destroyed had 
seen Joan of Arc. It contained over 2,500 statues, and the 
windows were second to none. 

Amiens, according to Viollet-le-Duc, is our most perfect and 
most homogeneous Gothic church. Ruskin paid it ample justice. 
But it has been touched up and scraped " like new " more than 
was necessary. Chartres and Bourges are probably as fine, and 
certainly more eloquent. 



Date of Height of 
foundation vault 



Albi (brick) . . . 

Amiens , 

Beauvais 

Bordeaux .... 

Bourges 

Chartres 

Clermont-Ferrand 

Laon 

Paris 

Poitiers 

Rheims 

Rouen 

Soissons 



1252 
1220 
1225 
1096 

"75 
1140 
1248 
1150 
1163 
1162 
1211 
1200 
1212 



98 feet 
141 

157 
108 
124 
120 

95 
131 
III 

98 
124 

174 
108 



Length 

351 feet 

469 » 

236 » 

450 » 

387 ,. 

426 » 

263 » 
360 » 

426 » 

312 » 

460 » 

426 » 

326 » 



Height of 
towers 

197 feet 

200 » 

213 » 

279 » 

213 » 

377 » 

355 » 

246 » 

223 » 

III » 

207 » 

492 » 

216 » 



Books recommended- — Emile Male, L'Art religieux dii xiu" Steele en France 
(Colin, 25 fr.). — Huysmans, La Calhedrale, C}iar tr es (Vlon, s fr. 50). — Broquelet, 
Nos Cathedrales (Garnier, 5 fr.). — Ruskin, The Bible of Amiens. — Emile Male, 
La Calhedrale de Reims (Bloud, o fr. 60). 

Penuell (E.-R.), French Cathedrals, Monasleries and Abbeys (Fisher Unwin, 1909). 
— Rose (E.-W.), Cathedrals and Cloisters of Midland France (Putnam, New York, 
1907). — Cathedral Cloisters of the South of France (Putnam, igi6). — Bumpas 
(T.-F.), Cathedrals of Southern France (T. Werner Laurie, London, 1913). 

- 42 - 



CITIES 

CITIES — Some important or well-known cities are : 
Inhab. 



Abbeville 20.700 

Ajaccio 22.300 

Amiens 90.900 

Angers 83.000 

Angouleme .... 37.600 

Arras 24.900 

Avignon 48.300 

Bayonne 26.500 

Besan9on 56.200 

Bordeaux 251.200 

Boulogne 51.200 

Bourges 44.100 

Brest 3.5 -300 

Caen 44.400 

Calais 66 . 600 

Cambrai 27.800 

Carcassonne . . . 31.000 

Cette 34.000 

Chalons-sur-Marne 27.800 

Chambery 23.000 

Cherbourg .... 44.000 

Clermont-Ferrand 53.400 

Colmar 42.000 

Dieppe 23.600 

Dijon 74.100 

Douai 34.000 

Dunkerque .... 38.300 

Epinal 28.000 

Grenoble 73.000 

Havre (Le) .... 123.400 

Laon 15.300 

La Rochelle. . . . 33.900 

Le Mans 65.500 

Lille 206.000 

Limoges 88.000 

Lorient 46.500 



Inhab. 



Luneville 24.300 

Lyon (Fr. spelling) 472.000 

Marseille (Fr. spelling) 517.000 

Maubeuge .... 21.500 

Metz 61.000 

Mezieres 9.400 

Montauban. . . . 28.700 

Montpellier. . . . 77.200 

Mulhouse 92.000 

Nancy 110.600 

Nantes ...... 162.000 

Nevers 27.000 

Nice 134.200 

Nimes 80.200 

Niort 23 . 300 

Orleans 68.600 

Paris 3.000.000 

Pau 35- 000 

Perpignan .... 39.000 

Poitiers. . . ; . . 39.300 

Reims (Fr. spelling) . no. 000 

Rennes 75.600 

Rochefort 36.700 

Roubaix 121.300 

Rouen 118.500 

Saint-Etienne . . . 146.000 

Saint-Nazaire. . . 35.800 

Strasbourg (Fi'.cpel). 167.400 

Tarbes 25.900 

Toul 13.600 

Toulon 103.600 

Toulouse 149.000 

Tourcoing 81.700 

Tours 67.600 

Valenciennes . . . 31.800 

Versailles 55.000 



Their narrow winding streets must often surprise our American 
friends ; they should bear in mind that our cities have grown 
" naturally ", house after house, an irregular path between two 
strings of houses slowly becoming a street. The citizens of a new 
country first design streets, and then build houses along them ; 
this method we followed only in a few cases ; for instance, when 
Saint Louis, in 1247, in order to check the growth of Toulouse 
(which was at the time outside his dominions), created a commer- 
cial centre at Carcassonne, a town was designed at the foot of the 



- 43 



CLIMATE 

old fortress of the same name, with perfectly straight thorough* 
fares, running at right angles. This "American" method was 
again followed when Francis I created Le Havre 400 years ago, 
and when Richelieu designed Richelieu (21 kil. from Chinon). 

Just as our streets are as a rule naturally winding, and can be 
made straight only gradually, or at considerable cost, so are their 
cleanliness, sanitation, and means of communication, generally 
behind the times, from similar causes. Those of our villages that 
possess a source of electric power, can adopt electric light far more 
easily than our townspeople, who are bound to old contracts 
with gas companies ; Marseilles and Algiers had excellent and 
cheap trolleys long before Paris, etc. 

A new order is opposed by Nature far less than by older stages 
of civilization. 



CLIMATE. — The temperature is moderate as a rule ; the summer 
average is 18° Centig. (72.4 Fahr.) ; the winter average, 6° C. 
(48.8 F.). But averages may include distant extremes ; this is the 
case with France. Parts of France are as warm as Spain or Italy, 
others are under snow nine months in the year ; some are exposed 
to the East wind coming straight from Russia across Germany; 
others to the mild influences of the Gulf-Stream. 

The usual division is the following : 

Breton climate : distinctly mild ; soft rains ; drizzle ; the Gulf- 
Stream. 

Bordeaux (or Gironde) climate : much the same as the Breton, 
but warmer. Much rain, and plenty of sunshine. 

Parisian climate : less damp than both, and less warm; ex- 
tremely variable : the battle-ground of East and West. Picardy, 
Artois, Flanders, are under this climate. 

Vosges climate : very continental. Much snow and hard frost 
in winter, great heat and drought in summer. The East wind 
rules. 

Lyons climate : high mountains in the neighbourhood, and the 
cold violent wind called " mistral " (rushing down the Rhone 
valley from the Alps) mean a continental climate, severe and 
sudden, with heavy condensations along the valley. 

Auvergne climate : not harsh, but extreme also. (Auvergne 
is the region of extinct volcanoes, right in the centre of France.) 

Mediterranean climate : warm and dry as a rule ; would be 
perfect if the great differences of temperature between the coast 
and the neighbouring mountains did not raise violent winds. 
Marseilles, being situated at the end of the Rhone valley, suffers 
from the " mistral ", 

-^- 



CLIMATE 

Rain fails 150 days in the year on the West coast, only 55 days a 
year at Marseilles ; on the West coast in gentle showers or pro- 
longed drizzles ; by the blue sea in short violent spells. 

Owing to unknown causes (deforestation is suspected to be one), 
France is now 
colder than itwas. 



Climate and 
agriculture. — 

Our climate af- 
fects our agricul- 
ture quite dis- 
tinctly, by divid- 
ing our country 
into 3 areas: one, 
bordering on the 

Mediterranean, 
and including the 
Rhone valley to 
some distance in- 
land, is an area 
where the olive 
can grow. A Nor- 
thern area, bor- 
dering on the 
Channel, and in- 
cluding the whole 
of Brittany, Nor- 
mandy, Picardy, 
Flanders, Artois, 
and part of Ar- 
dennes, is one 
where the vine 

Betweln thSr extreme regions Ues the Atlantic area, which 
includes 2 h of France; normal French agriculture, with its 
combination of wheat-land, vineyards, meadows, forests, is to 
be found in that area. 

Climate and health. — It should be remembered : i. that 
generally speaking, our cHmate is intermediate between that ot 
En<^land and that of North America. It is more harsh than the 
former • more variable, but within more proximate extremes, than 
the latter • 2. that we make a distinction, from our human point 
of view between the cUmate of Lorraine, and that of Artois or 
Flanders. Lorraine has wine, Flanders not. This means that 
Artois or Flanders are wet, while the East as a rule enjoys dry 
bracing weather, whether in summer or in winter ; 3. however, 
the heat in France will never be what it is in New York (New \ ork is 
on the latitude of Madrid ; while Paris is further North than 

- 45 - 




The climates of France. 



COLONIES 

Quebec) ; nor the cold ever be so bitter or prolonged as in Canada 
(even our East is not very far from the Gulf-Stream). On the 
whole, our Allies need not fear our climate; if it is slightly different 
from their own, they will find that it does not affect their health 
to any extent. But both Britishers and Americans had better 
beware of its sudden changes, and wear wool. Woollen socks 
are the only thing for marching, especially in summer. 

Our best-known proverb on the subject of climate and health 
is : "In April, do not remove one thread. In May, do as you 
please. " {"En Avril, note pas un fil. En Mai, fais ce qu'il te 
plait. ") 

A second rule of health is : never drink water, unless you know 
it is safe and even then drink very little of it, unless you are 
on the march, or take food with it. 

Books recommended. — See : Geographical Outline. — Also : Mac Quarrie, 
How to live at the Front (Dippincott, 6 s.) 

COLONIES. — It is a matter of fairly common belief that the 
French are lacking in colonizing spirit, the assertion implying as a 
rule that the Frenchman is a born " fonctionnaire " , unfitted for 
individual enterprise. A more serious mistake about us could 
not very well be made. 

It is quite true that very often the Frenchman is deeply attach- 
ed to his fields and " familie ", and is fond of social life; but 
what better proof could be given of his ability as a colonist than 
the fact that in spite of this close affection for his home, he has 
built up no less than three successive colonial empires since the 
xivth century ? We are so far indeed from lacking individual 
resource as colonists, that our colonization has been almost enti- 
rely, save in recent times, the work of individuals. Until about 
40 years ago, colonies were hardly ever a national affair with us ; 
the mother-country generally neglected her adventurous sons ; 
their activity and obstinacy forced over-sea possessions upon her; 
she lost them in European wars with a fairly light heart. 

In the xvith century, our Kings appreciated only the Colonies 
that produced gold ; in the xviith and xviiith, the spices of the 
West Indies ranked far ahead of the wheat lands of Canada. 
Voltaire called North America " a few acres of snow, " and " could 
have wished Canada at the bottom of the sea. " D'Argenson, the 
great Premier of Louis XV, stated that " if he had been the King, 
he would have parted with all the Colonies for a pin's head... " 
Choiseul, a very able minister, when he ceded Canada, thought 
he had "caught" the English, as their Colonies in the South could 
but rise against them, now that the French had left the North... 
We never took much interest as a nation in things Egyptian; even 
the Suez Canal left us indifferent, etc... 

With this official ignorance or indifference, compare the 
65,000 " individual " French peasants left behind in Canada 

- 46 - 



Colonies 

in 1763 ; they are a minion and a half to-day, and have proved 
excellent colonists; they have never depended on " foncHon- 
narisme " . 

The case of England is almost the reverse ; there the nation 
made colonization her business as early as in the days of Eliza- 
beth, spent money and blood on it lavishly, made emigration 
easy, and at times almost compulsory. Not that the British 
have ever lacked energetic individuals (who also had to force 
colonies on the Little Englanders) ; but on the whole the State 
understood and led. Colonies are a necessity to England as a 
nation; to us as a nation they are merely useful; sometimes 
indeed they were burdensome : the defence of our soil was as 
much as we could manage. And so it has happened that the 
individual French traveller or colonist opened up Canada and 
India, which were secured thereafter by the national policy 
of England. It has been said that the British Empire was to a 
great extent " a present of the French " ; the statement, far 
from inviting ill-feeling on either side, would be of little interest 
to-day, if the amount of obvious truth which it contains did not 
establish beyond doubt, we think, that the Frenchman is not a 
born " fonctionnaire ", incapable of individual enterprise. 

We occupied Guinea as early as 1365 ; the Canaries in 1402, 
Brazil in 1503, Canada in 1518, Guiana in 1582, Madagascar in 
1 601, etc. After the Seven Years' War, our defeat at Rosbach 
by Frederic of Prussia in 1757, the death of Montcalm at Quebec 
in 1759, and the taking of Pondicherry in 1761, we had to 
give Louisiana to Spain, and all the rest of our possessions (in- 
cluding Canada, India, Senegal) except Pondicherry and Chander- 
nagore, to England (Treaty of Paris, 1763). Thus ended our first 
Empire. 

Yet, only five years later, Bougainville gave us New 
Guinea, the New Hebrides, Tahiti, etc. We gradually regained 
most of our old Colonies, abolished slavery in 1794, conquered 
Egypt in 1798. But Napoleon sold Louisiana to the •United 
States, and... lost Waterloo, with the consequence that the Treaty 
of Paris of 1814 left us a few islands in the West Indies, 
5 towns in India, Senegal, Guiana, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. 
Thus much for our second Empire. 

However, in 1821, Rene Caille entered virgin Timbuctoo ; we 
occupied Tamatave in 1829, Algiers in 1830, Oran in 1831, Gabon 
in 1849, New Caledonia in 1853, Tourane (Indo-China) in 1858, 
began the Suez Canal in 1859, settled in Cochin-China in 1862, 
explored the Niger in 1865, etc... By 1871, we possessed over seas 
more than one milUon square kilom. with a population of 5 mill- 
ions. To-day, our third Empire is the second in importance in 
the world ; its area is over 11 million sq. kil. (22 times the area of 
France), and its population over 58 millions. Surely, those facts 
speak for themselves. 



COLONIES 



Algeria 925.000 sq. kil. 5.563.000 inh. Alger. 

Tunisia 125.000 1.923.000 Tunis. 

Morocco 800.000 6.000-. 000 Fez. 

Sahara 5.037.00^ 700.000 

Senegal & Sudan . . . . 1.800. 001 12.700.000 Dakar. 

Gabon & Congo 1.800.000 8.500.000 Brazzaville. 

Madagascar 592.000 2.700.000 Tananarive. 

Reunion & Comores . . . 4.600 275.000 St-Denis. 

Somalee Coast 36.000 200.000 Djibouti. 

Total Africa. . . . 11. 119. 600 38.561.000 

Fr. India 508 273.000 Pondichery, 

Fr. Indo-China 705.000 18.925.000 Hanoi. 

ToEAL Asia 705.508 19.198.000 

New Caledonia 21.000 62.000 Noumea. 

Tahiti Group 4.100 30.000 Papeiti. 

Total South Seas. . 25.100 92.000 

Saint- Pierre & Miquelon. 242 6^300 Saint- Pierre. 

Guadeloupe & Group. . 1.868 182.000 Pointe-a-Pitre. 

Martinique 988 207. oco Fort de France. 

Fr. Guiana 88.000 33.000 Cayenne. 

Total America. . . 91.098 428.300 

Our most valuable Colony s Algeria, with its annexes Tunisia 
and Morocco. North Africa is only 500 miles from our coast, a 
24 hours' crossing. Algeria is almost apart of France; it is divid- 
ed into '■ departements ", contributes i Army Corps, has a Univer- 
sity, etc. ; 15 % of its population are Europeans; 10 % are French. 
Its total trade has grown from 253 million francs in 1870 to more 
than 1. 000 millions; 3 /4 of that trade is with us. Wine, grain, 
vegetables, sheep, are its main productions. 

Algeria has proved an invaluable school to our soldiers 
and administrators ; it gradually led us to become an African 
power. 

General description of the French colonial contingent which has 
taken part in the European war. {Observer, Jan. 1917.) 

" These forces fall under three heads : French colonists, 
white natives, and coloured men. They do not include those 
troops — such as the " Infanterie Coloniale " or the Foreign 
Legion — which were garrisoned in the Colonies when the war 
began, but had all been recruited in Europe... No official figures 
have been issued as regards the contingent supplied by the 
French colonists. 

The last census, however, shows that there are 492,000 French- 
men in Algeria, 46,000 in Tunis, and 36,000 in Morocco, to which 
must be added 70,000 Algerian Jews who are all French citizens... 
This makes an aggregate of over 600,000 people, all liable 
to conscription... We are probably under the truth inputting 
the whole properly French contingent (most of whom serve as 
Zouaves) at about 60,000. 

SAILLENS =— 49 — ' 4 



COLONIES 

"We are somewhat better informed as regards the native 
element from North Africa, whom the British public knows 
under the name of " Turcos ", and who are officially termed 
"Tirailleurs Algerians ", "Tunisians", "Marocains" : Tunis 
alone had, by March 15, 1915, raised a force of 41,000 men. 
On the other hand, Morocco, which is still half unconquered, has 
supplied a few thousand native troops. 

M. Boussenot, by the middle of 1916... stated that the 
white native force already raised by North Africa amounted 
to a total of 130,000 men... This contingent to-day is at least 
150,000 men. 
" The main body of the coloured troops consists of blacks 
from French West Africa, who are 
usually called Senegalese, although 
they are recruited in all parts of the 
Fr. Sudan. These excellent troops have 
fought with distinction on the Somme 
and around Verdun, as well as in 
Gallipoli, or in Salonica... The " Jour- 
nal officiel " of Fr. W. Africa states 
that the number of Senegalese raised 
for the European War reached in 1916 
the respectable figure of 118,000 men. 
Other equally official documents show 
that, if one adds the various coloured 
contingents supplied by Indo-China, 
Madagascar, and the West Indies, the 
total figure reached in 191 6 was well 
above another 150,000 men. " 

" This brings us to a grand total of 
360,000 men actually in the ranks of 
the Army fighting on the various 
European fronts... It would not be surprising to hear that 
Greater France has supplied the mother-country with another 
half million men before the war is over. Neither have I taken 
into account the coloured forces which fought in Togoland 
and the Cameroons or the native labour imported into France 




A French north African 

SOLDIER. 



from the Colonies... 

" This is yesterday's effort. 



What about the future ? " 



Books recommended. — Novels and descriptions by Pierre Loti, Louis Bertrand. 
— Commandant Baratier, La Mission Marchand (B?rrere, 1903). — Henri Lorin, 
L'Ajrique du Nord (Colin, 3 fr.). — General Lyautey, Du Role colonial de I'armee 
(Colin, o fr. 50). — Chiq siecles et demi d'aciiviie coloniale (Didier, fr. 60). 

The French Colonies' effort (Bloud, o fi. 50). — Balch (T. W.), France in 
North Africa (Allen et Scott, Philadelphia, 1906.) — Bradley (A. G.), The Fight 
with France for North America (Constable, 1908), 

See also : Geographical outline. 



-30- 



GOMEDIE FRANgAISE^ 



"COMEDIEFRANCAISE." (The old meaning of •• comedie" V7a.5 
" drama ", i. e. tragedy as well as comedy.) — It is well known 
that our principal theatres, in Paris and in the provinces, 
receive financial support from the State or the towns. 

The most famous of those national institutions is the " Comedie 
Frangaise " in Paris, also called "la Maison de Moliere", " le 
Theatre Frangais", or simply : " le Frangais". It was founded by 
Louis XIV in 1680, seven 
years after the death of 
Moliere, by the fusion of the 
two main theatrical com- 
panies existing in Paris at 
the time. It occupied se- 
veral sites (1689, 1770), but 
enjoyed an unrivalled repu- 
tation and a happy fruitful 
existence until the Revolution 
brought about a conflict be- 
tween the old conservative 
house and a young com- 
petitor which called itself 
" Theatre de la Republique " ; 
— upon which the Comedie 
assumed the name of " Thea- 
tre de la Nation " . 

The Convention in 1791 
disestablished all theatres ; 
whereupon the " Comedie " 
became more imprudently 
royalist than ever. The whole 
company were arrested in 
1793, some of them being 
released on condition they 
joined the rival house. When 
the rest were released in their 
turn on the 9th Thermidor 
(the day when the rule of 
Robespierre came to an end), they revived the old " Comedie " 
which soon outshone its young opponent, because of its supe- 
rior technique, especially in comedy. 

But, after a number of unfortunate and intricate transactions 
private enterprise, by favouring competition rather than co-opera- 
tion, dispersed the original artists, and the creation of a second 
inferior company, the first artists of the "Odeon". At last 
the Government took the matter in hand, and by regulations 
dated 1799 re-organized the original company and established 
them in the present house near the " Palais-Royal " built by 
Louis, in 1787; (destroyed by fire, in 1900; re-built the same 

- 51 - 




Voltaire 

by Houdon, (in the lobby of the Comed.e 

Frangaise). See Literature, and Sculpture. 



COMMERCE 

year). Napoleon, in 1803, framed for them a more precise 
constitution, and then another, still in force to-day, which he 
signed at Moscow in 1812. The house is under the presidency 
and administration of a State official, the " Administrateur 
General " ; the artists have an important share in the artistic 
management, but admissions and dismissals are in the hands 
of the Government (" Ministre de I' Instruction Publique et 
des Beaux-Arts "). Promotion is given partly by vote, partly 
for long service. All members are entitled to a pension upon 
retiring from active service, like other State officials. 

The " Comedie Francaise " is the best theatre in the world ; 
its standard is very high, as it does not depend on one or two 
"stars", but on the taste of cultured Frenchmen past and 
present, and on the cumulative teachings of all our best actors 
since Louis XIV. No one can say that he really understands our 
classical drama until he has heard the artists of the " Comedie ". 
They teach more about Corneille and Racine than most 
masters or critics could do ; because the " Comedie " maintains 
the living atmosphere in which the plays came to life, and 
without which they can appeal to the emotions but indirectly 
and imperfectly. 

Another service rendered to us by the " Comedie " is that of 
preserving a standard of French pronunciation ; on that point it 
co-operates with the " Academie " in keeping our language pure. 



The "Opera", as a national company, is still older than the 
" Comedie " ; it was founded in 1671. 

The " Opera-Comique " was founded about 1716 and re- 
organized in 1 801. 

The " Odeon " (or " Second Theatre Frangais ") and " Conser- 
vatoire " (see Music) are also State-aided institutions. 

As a result of those subsidies, the prices of the seats in all those 
houses are very moderate. 

Books recomniended. — Bonnassies, La Comedie Franfaise (Perrin). — Tisse- 
rand, Plaidover pour ma maison, le Theatre Fraiifais (Paris, 1866). ■ — • Works of 
J. Claretie, Larroumet, Francisque Sarcey, Jules Lemaitre. 



COMMERCE — Our home trade is about ten times more import- 
ant than our foreign trade. Full and accurate statistics are not 
available. 

Our foreign trade was steadily growing before the war. 
The high protective tariffs of 1892 had made it decline at first, 
from 9,000 million francs in 1890 to 8,000 in 1893; but the pro- 
gress of our colonies and our industries soon made it rise again; 
it reached 12,700 million francs in 1912. (U. K. : 30,350 ; 
Germ. 20,000 ; U. S. A. 16,500.) 

- 52 — 



COMMERCE 

Imports : 6,700 million francs ; 53 % of total trade (U. K. 
16.950). 

a) Food-stuffs : 16.7 % of total imports. Coffee from Brazil 
and our own Colonies (100 to 120 millions); grain from U. S. A., 
Russia, Algeria, Argentina ; rice from Indo-China ; tea, sugar, 
rum, etc. 

b) Manufactured articles : 
U. S. A., U. K., Germany. 

c) Raw materials : 64.5 %. 



18.8 %. Mostly machinery from 
Wool from Australia, Argentina; 



cotton from U. S. A., Egypt, India ; silk from China and Italy ; 



t S / -V* FOREIGN TRADE 

%■ f<r'#^** o* OF FRANCE IN 1909 

y S^ .J"" ^ ^? X* v in millions of Francs; 

,%_ °'ro -? ■? -b* i,^"" oO^* showinq distances in kilom. 

■ Japan . 10.1 milll^ng 20 000 ^;, 




Diagram showing the comparative importance of French trade 

WITH various parts OF THE WORLD. 

flax from Russia ; coal from Engl, and Belgium ; petroleum from 
U. S. A. and Russia ; wood from Russia and Norway. 

Our purchases in grain vary a good deal ; they reached 225 
million francs in 1907 ; they were 4 times as high in 191 6. 

We pay for wool annually over 600 million francs ; for cotton 
and silk, over 500 ; for coal, over 400 ; for wood, 200. 

Exports : 6,000 million francs ; 47 % of total trade (U. K. : 
13,400). 

a) Food-stuffs : 13.3 % of total exports. Wines to U. K., 
U. S. A., Russia, Germany ; oil, butter, cheese, eggs, fruit, etc., 
to U. K. mostly. 

b) Manufactiired goods : 59.8 %. Cotton goods from the 
North of France and Rouen, also woollens from Roubaix, 



— 53 — 



COMMERCE 

Rheims, Elbeuf, to Africa and Colonies. Silks of Lyons, " arfides 
de Paris " , millinery, motor-cars, etc., all over the world. 

c) Raw materials : 26.9 %. 

We sell annually over 300 million francs of silks, cotton goods, 
millinery, etc., and about 340 millions of woollens. 

Our best customer by far is U. K. ; our trade with her, even 
7 years ago, amounted to 17 % of our total trade. 

French Imports and Exports (in million francs), in 1910. 

Imports Exports Totals 

United Kingdom. . . . 887 1.265 2.152 

Germany 666 726 1-392 

Belgium 439 903 1-342 

French Colonies. . . . 671 572 1-243 

United States 727 474 1.201 

Switzerland 122 343 465 

Italy 165 293 458 

Argentine 301 128 429 

Russia 288 63 351 

India 290 17 307 

Spain 180 124 304 

China 189 14 203 

Foreign and Colonial trade of certain Nations from 1892 to 1907. 

in 1892 in 1907 Increase 

(millions fr.) (millions fr.) percent 

Germany 8.61.1 19.980 132 % 

Great Britain 16.418 27.017 61 % 

Austria-Hungary. . . 3.377 5.908 75 % 

France 7.649 11.596 52 % 

Italy 2. 131 4. 611 120 % 

Russia 2.049 4-323 no % 

United States .... 7.666 16.733 118 % 

Belgium 2.905 6.101 103 % 

Japan 985 2.438 147 % 

Totals. . . . 51.791 98.707 82 % 

French trade in 1914 1915 and 1916 

Exports 4.869 4.000 5.000 

Imports 6.402 11.000 15.000 

Books recommended. — ■ H. Pigeonneau, Histoire du commerce de la Franc* 
(Paris, 1885-89, 2 vo;.). — E. Levasseur, Histoire du commerce de la France (Rous- 
seau, 191 1). — Manuel de Geographie commerciale, 2 vol., 1910 (Bergcr-Levrault. 
10 fr. ). 

- 54 — 



COOKING 

COOKING. — This is not a cookery-book, and could nevei 
attempt to be one, since, on the one hand, we have three hundred 
ways of preparing eggs, and on the other we turn to account 
donkey's flesh (" saucisson de Lyon "), larks, blackbirds, snails, 
frogs, etc. — Paris sometimes consumes 50 tons of snails in one 
day, and its consumption of horse flesh in 191 3 was over 11.000 
tons (over 11 % of its total meat consumption). 

The range and elaborateness of our cooking are due to several 
factors, natural or political. One is the variety of climates, which 
originated three great schools of cooking : the " butter school ", 
which rules the N., N.-W., and W., and ist the classical school' 
as well, butter being regarded everywhere as the most delicate 
fat. The second school uses olive-oil, and is partial to saffron, 
tomatoes, garlic, pepper and cloves, onions and vinegar ; it 
flourishes in the S.-E., Provence especially. The S.-W., from 
Bordeaux to Toulouse, uses oil and butter in some cases, but 
depends as a rule on the fat of geese and pork. Thus do truffles 
of Perigord (S.-W.), when used in omelets, according as the 
omelet is fried in butter, lard, oil, or goose fat, afford four 
varieties of one kind of omelet... (See : Agriculture and Situation.) 

Another factor is periodic poverty, the recurrence of wars and 
famines, which forced the people to exert themselves to the utmost 
in the discovery of new cheap foods. Frogs cost nothing, and are 
plentiful ; they do not look particularly inviting or nutritious ; 
yet they could never jump if their legs were not fairly muscular ; 
throw away the rest of their bodies if you like, but find some use 
for that flesh. So hunger spoke. Our peasantry has found 
at least three methods of preparing frogs; they may be stewed and 
served with milk sauce, or fried, or fried inside pastry. The 
taste is as delicate as that of flsh or chicken. In the same way 
he has utilized the snails that live on the vines of Burgundy. 
Those big fat snails are starved for a couple of days, so as to make 
them internally irreproachable; they are then washed, boiled, 
stuffed with bread, butter, and herbs, baked in an oven, and 
served hot. Thus has the vine been rid of its parasites, and 
provided food as well as drink... 

Lastly, the refinement of the Court contributed much to the 
development of cooking as a fine art. Our epicures in the 
xviiith century claimed that they could tell on which leg a pheas- 
ant had been in the habit of sleeping, merely from the greater 
firmness of the flesh. One century before that, when our chefs 
had still a great deal to learn, food was regarded as so important 
that the steward of the Prince of Conde, Vatel, fell on his sword, 
like a true knight, because the fish ("la maree ")had not arrived in 
time for a dinner at which Louis XIV was to be present ! Thus 
is truth stranger than fiction. The following description of a little 
friendly dinner, offered by Louis XIV to the Pope's Legate, will 
perhaps make it appear less unlikely. 

— 55 — 



COOKING 

" Therewere, " says d'Ormesson, " but two knives and forks oil 
the table : the King s at the proper place, the Legate's four seats 
down, on the same side. The silver-chest at the end, on the 
King's side. The first course, of " potages " , being on the table 
(it consisted of ten large dishes and fourteen plates) the King came 
in, preceded by ten house-stewards and the chief house-steward ; 
the Legate came in on his left. When he had reached the top of 
the table, the Duke of Enghien, as great master of the ceremonies, 
offered him the napkin, while M. de Bellefonds, as chief steward, 
presented it to the Legate. The Legate having then walked to his 
place, the King sat down, then the Legate, each in an arm-chair. 
The King was served by the Marquess of Crenan, chief cup-bearer, 
the Count of Cresse, chief of the King's buttery, and M. de Mes- 
grigny-Vandeuvres, chief carver. They stood in that order oppo- 
site the King, and set the dishes before him on the table after the 
chief carver had tasted them. The Legate was served by Compt- 
roller Parfait, who filled his glass, and presented to him the 
dishes passed by another Parfait and by young Chamoy. Behind 
the chair of the King stood M. de Gesvres, captain of the Guards 
on duty, Abbe Coislin, grand Almoner, and at the end of the table, 
the house-stewards. At every course, the stewards went out for 
the meat, and came back preceded by the usher of the hall, the 
stewards two and two, staff in hand, the chief steward coming 
last. The dishes and plates were brought in and removed by 
the King's footmen. There were four courses, and then fruit, this 
last consisting of four pyramids of twenty-four plates of porcelain 
of all kinds of fruit, and fourteen plates of " citronnades" z.ndot'hQX 
courses. The King drank only twice, from the hand of his chief 
cup-bearer ; the Legate four times, from the hand of Comptroller 
Parfait. Dinner over, the King rose, and at the same time the 
Legate, who walked up to him ; thereupon the Duke of Enghien 

E resented the napkin to the King, and the chief steward to the 
egate. The Queens sat in the gallery during the ceremony; the 
violins, trumpets and cymbals were in the hall. " 

Here follow two authentic instances of the expansion and 
prestige of French cookery ; one from India, and the other from 
Russia. 

A traveller in India, where the cooking is very poor as a rule, was 
surprised at the quality of certain dishes at his hotel ; he asked 
what sort of man the cook might be. He was told that he was 
an Indian who had worked as stoker on one of the " Messageries " 
steamers, and must have taken a few lessons from the chef at odd 
moments. That was indeed -'peaceful penetration". 

A few years ago, two Russian peasants were wandering about 
Odessa, when one of them suggested that they ought to try to get 
a " constitution " at some restaurant ; because, he explained to 
his friend, the French have constitutions, and like them ; in fact, 
they simply dote on them ; and the French being such grand cooks< 

- 56 - 



COOKING 

A " constitution " must be a feast for the Gods. The other read- 
ily assented ; and they tried the best restaurant they could find. 
Fortunately, one of the servants was intelligent, and had spent 
some time in France ; he quickly prepared and brought some steak 
with a sauce that the moujicks had never tasted, and which fully 
confirmed them in their respect for French civilization. When 
they went home, and told their friends of this dish, the unfortu- 
nate inn-keepers of the nearest market-town, who failed to pro- 
vide the magic food, were severely dealt with by the irate consti- 
tutionalists. 

Some reader will think that " this may be all very fine, but 
he has never found a decent piece of meat in any French restau- 
rant. " He should remember that as a nation, we are not carni- 
vorous ; and that meat is always a luxury ; so that restaurants 
find it cheaper, and just as pleasant to their customers, to give 
them mysterious sauces rather than plain roast. However, if 
the reader will try a really good place, and ask for a " Chateau- 
briand ", he will be given a steak that may reconcile him to the 
vanity of our ways. 

Snail farms. — In France, where there is a big demand for 
snails, snail farms yield a handsome profit. As many as 
500,000 " first quality " snails, the price ol which in normal times 
averages 7 s. 6 d. per thousand, can be reared on an acre of land. 
They need be fed only once a day, preferably in the evening, and 
though extremely voracious, are by no means fastidious. After 
a fall of rain, which seems to sharpen their appetite, a bed 
of 100,000 snails will soon demolish a barrow load of cabbages. 
They are fed not only on greenstuffs, but on wine dregs, or 
bran soaked in wine, a diet which is supposed to impart a special 
flavour. 

Spenser on snails — Three centuries ago, snails were more 
popular in England than they are now. In " The Faerie Queene " 
Spenser gives a recipe for their preparation : 

With our sharp iveapons we shal thee fray. 
And take the castill that thou lyest in; 
We shal thee flay out of thy foule skin, 
And in a dish, with onyons and peper, 
We shal thee dress with strong vynegare. 

Books recommended. — Brillat-Savarin, Physiologie du Gout. — Audot, La 
ciiisinUre de la campagne et de la viUe. — Mile Sivrette, La cuisine a bon matcke 
(Larousse, o fr. 90). — Hayward, L'Homme parfait cuisinier (100 odd recipes for 
men in the field) (Berger-Levrault, i fr. 75). — Petite Methode pratique pour la 
cuisine de la troupe en campagne (Berger-Levrault, o fr. 25). 

Harrison (G. C), Allied Cooking. British, French, Italian, Belgian and Russian 
(Putnams, New-York and London, 1916). — Keyser (F.), French Household 
Cookery, 3rd edition (London, 1915). 



— 57 — 



DECORATIONS 

DECORATIONS. — "Not decorated ! " said the French detective; 
"why then we'll soon find him!" — Statistics do not say what 
real foundation this little joke may have ; but it is true that the 
French are fond of decorations, while the different orders are few, 
so that large proportions of people wear the same ribbon. 

The Civil and Military Order of the " Legion d'Honneur " was 
instituted by Napoleon in 1802. — (" By instituting the Legion of 
Honour I have united under one interest all the classes of the 
nation; it is a deep-rooted institution that will long survive 
my system. ") — The grades are : " chevalier " , " officier ", 
" commandeur ", " grand-officier ", " grand-croix " . Long ser- 
vice, in the case of officers, and very long service (about 
30 years), in the case of N.C.Os., is sufficient to ensure the red 
ribbon of the Legion. A private or N.C.O. gets it but seldom '. 
to them it is as precious as the V. C. to a Britisher. At the same 
time civilians receive it almost automatically when they fill 
certain posts. On the whole the Legion has become far more 
accessible than was meant by its founder ; partly for want of other 
appropriate decorations. Napoleon did not intend the order to 
include more than 6,412 members. 

Napoleon's officers being always in the field, they could not vei y 
well look after their children ; Napoleon founded special schools 
for the daughters of the most distinguished of them : his " legion- 
naires " , at Saint-Denis, Ecouen, and Les Loges (all N. of Paris). 
The sons were bursars in his " lycees " and cadet-schools. The 
schools for legionnaires' daughters have survived to this day. 

Purely military is the " Medaille Militaire " , the ribbon of which 
is yellow with green edges. It was instituted by Napoleon III. 
It rewards bravery in the field, or long service, in the case of 
N. C. Os. and men. A peculiarity of its bestowal is that an 
officer who has reached the highest rank in the Legion may receive 
it on very rare occasions. Marshal Joffre received it after the 
Marne. 

While there are grades in the Legion, all " medailles " are equals. 

The Legion, when given to a military man, and the 
" Medaille " entitle the recipient to a pension. 

Moderate distinction, or long service, in the cause of literature, 
the fine arts, or education, entitle thousands to a violet decoration; 
some are " officiers d'academie " (this has nothing to do with the 
" Academie Frangaise ") ; others rank higher as " officiers de 
I' Instrtiction publique ". The former wear a ribbon, the latter 
a " rosette " . The " palms " attached to the ribbon or rosette are 
only worn on great occasions. No pensions are attached. 

Good work in the interests of agriculture is rewarded by the 
" Ordre du Merite agricole " , a green ribbon with red edges. This 
was instituted by the Third (present) Republic, and does not 
carry a pension. 

In the course of this war, a" Croix de Guerre " with a green and 

- 58 - 



bEGOkATlVE ARf § 

fed ribbon has been given to thousands for bravery in the field . This 
is intermediate between tlie " Medaille militaire" and the comme- 
morative medals given to all members of an expedition. It is 
given to all men mentioned in Orders ; if in Regimental or Brigade 
Orders : with one bronze star; Divisional Orders : a silver star; 
Army Corps Orders : a gold star; Army Orders : a palm. With 
the " Medaille " or the "Legion" given for conspicuous bravery, 
the " Croix de Guerre " is awarded as well. 

A green ribbon with black stripes is worn by those who took 
part in the war of 1870. The " Medaille Coloniale " (blue and 
white ribbon) and special commemorative medals, distinguish 
those who fought in Madagascar, Morocco, etc. 

The " foiirragere " (forage cord, a rope used for tieing hay) was 
worn by soldiers as an ornament several generations ago. It is 
now a collective decoration ; a unit that has been cited three times 
in Orders receives the green and red fourragere (collective "Croix 
de Guerre ") ; 5 times, a green and yellow one (collective Military 
Medal) ; 6 times, a blood-red one (collective Legion of Honour). 

Familiar insignia. — A white ribbon, with, blue and yellow 
edges, is worn by men discharged from the Army on account of 
a disease contracted whilst on active service ; the same, with a 
red star, by men discharged on account of wounds. Every 
stripe on the right arm (between elbow and shoulder), means a 
wound received. One stripe on the lejt arm means one year at 
the front ; the second, third, etc., 6 months each. Those stripes, 
in the shape of a ^, are called " Brisques " or " Chevrons ". 

Books recommended. — H, Fougerol et Saillard, Croix de guerre, insignes et 
decorations miliiaires (Berger-Levrault, 2 £r.). — Cayet, Manuel des Decorations 
franpaises, 8 col. plates (Berger-Levrault, i fr. 50). 

DECORATIVE ARTS. — Because chairs and tables are much 
more in request than pictures, our art has exerted its influence 
through decoration, far more extensively than through any 
other of its activities. For well over 200 years, we have 
had " national styles ", whose influence extended from Spain to. 
Russia, and permeated even the tradition of our village joiners. 
The standard was high, and national : it was set by the Court and 
by Paris. At the same time, we possess the most skilled workmen 
in Europe, and a large proportion of our people could afford to 
pay for good work, so that production, however extensive, 
seldom fell below a fairly high grade. 

We can give only a few essentials on this interesting subject; 
a good deal might be said about our jewellers, goldsmiths, chasers, 
glass-founders, lace-workers, etc., but space forbids. 

Tapestry. — Whether of local or foreign manufacture, tapes-' 
tries have been known in France since Roman times. In the 
xith century, several monasteries wove woollen hangings. In 

- 59 - 



bECORATIVE ARTS 

the xiith, Paris and Arras produced the best tapestries in Europe J 
Brussels was to develop in the xiiith. In the xvth, the annexa- 
tion of Flanders to Burgundy and the ruiji of Paris, while we were 




A DRAWING-ROOM IN THE LOUIS XIV STYLE. 

(Hotel of the Duke of Lauzun). 



fighting the English, gave Arras undisputed supremacy. The 
Sultan of Constantinople bought Arras tapestries representing 
scenes from the " Romance of the Rose " and " Arras " became 
a common noun, both in England and in Italy (avrazo) . In the 
xvith, Brussels took the lead ; there the Pope ordered tapestries 
for the churches of Rome ; the Flemings reproduced the cartoons 
of Raphael. 

In 1598, Henry IV revived at last Parisian tapestry, establishing 

— 60 — 



DECORATIVE ARTS 

looms in the Louvre. In 1662, Louis XIV and Colbert founded 
the famous "Gobelins", an enormous workshopp and school of art, 
where Le Brun was absolute master for 27 years over 800 artists 




A Louis XV drawing-room. 
(Chateau of Champs). 



and artisans, who were employed not only on tapestry, but wood- 
earving, bronzes, mosaics, embroidery, etc. At the same time, 

— 61 — 



DECORATIVE ARTS 

the manufacture of carpets was re-organized in the Louvre and 
at the " Savonnerie " , and another manufacture of tapestry was 
opened at Beauvais. After the triumph of Beauvais (under 
Oudry) in the xviiith century, and the decline of our tapestry in 
the xixth, the Third Repubhc has done its best for the Gobelins, 
where private orders can now be carried out, whilst the State and 




Louis XVI style. 
The bed-chamber of Marie- Antoinette at the Petit Trianon, Versailles. 



the cities, like the kings of old, ask eminent painters (like Puvis 
de Chavannes) to paint cartoons for the tapestries they order. 

Beauvais is still active and, like Aubusson, is State property. 
Silk tapestries are a speciality of Lyons. 

Furniture. — Tapestry did duty for furniture, to a large extent, 
all through the Middle Ages. It was only in the xivth century 
that the men who had decorated the cathedrals applied their 
skill as carvers to the making of furniture. — ■ Our furniture, how- 
ever, remained very simple until the xvith, when Italy taught us 
luxury, and the use of costly materials, such as ebony, ivory, jet, 
silver, and pearl embroideries. The dresser of the French home, 
a stout structure of plain native oak, intended for the plate s 
and ewers of the household, was succeeded by the inlaid cabinei , 
as ornate as a fagade of the Renaissance, and containing jewels 
and trinkets. — Flemish and Italian influences were dominant 
under Louis XIII, and even under Louis XIV, until Boulle 
1642-1732) created a French style that combined Italian su'mp- 
tuousness with Flemish solidity, and the particular grandeur of 

— 62 — 



DECORATIVE ARTS 

Versailles. Boulle did not belong to the Gobelins ; he was a 
perfectly original, and yet national artist, whose family had 
lived and worked in the palace of the Louvre for three gene- 
rations. The Louis XIV style is severe, of large size, and fond of 
sober symmetrical curves. The materials used in the best 
furniture are costly, but the general appearance is never 




« Empire » style. 
The bed-chamber of Empress Josephine at the Malmaison, near Paris. 

gaudy. — Under Louis XV, furniture became more handy 
and more ornate ; the curves were often extravagant ; varnish 
and oils were used in the decoration of chairs, desks, etc. — 
Under Louis XVI a strong reaction set in ; personal fancy 
did not lose its privileges, but extravagance disappeared : 
right angles, straight lines, simple ovals, achieved a style probably 
unsurpassed in grace and apparent simplicity. — Slight modifi- 
cations led to the " Directoire " style which preserved the simpli- 
city, but lacked the grace. — Napoleon, under whom mahogany 
was much in vogue, gave the name of his " Empire " to a cold, 
severe style, which drew its supposed inspirations either frgrp 

- 63 - 



DECORATIVE ARTS 

purely utilitarian motives, or from an imitation of antiquity, and 
of Egyptian decoration. — Heavy taste asserted itself in the so- 
called " Louis-Philippe " period. — The " Second Empire " was 
distinctly, almost wilfully ugly. 

Of recent times, a number of specialists (Groult, Dufrene, 
Mare, Jallot, Follot), have revived our decorative arts, by con- 
demning our previous habit of filling rooms with a number of 
articles which individually might be pretty, but had no relation to 
one another ; a " splendid " imitation Renaissance cabinet be- 
tween two " magnificent" imitation Louis XIV arm-chairs, etc. — 
They very properly subjected all the decoration of a house to 
a few principles and colour-schemes, inspired by the architecture 
of the house itself, the general tastes and habits of the owner, 
etc., so as to obtain a living whole (an "ensemble ") and they 
call themselves " ensembliers ". Their art, of course, has bene- 
fited by the example of William Morris and his disciples. But 
those men have worked only for the very few, and their influence 
has not sunk deep. Some distinguished connoisseurs persist 
in enriching their household museums, while the vast majority, 
true to the modern principle of the " showy, cheap, and nasty ', 
are content with sham Louis XVI, and spurious " modern- 
style ", the only styles that suit the steam-plane. 

Ceramics. — It is very difficult to tell whether the tiles and 
potteries of Roman Gaul were due to Gaulish or foreign artists. 
We had excellent pottery before Roman times, but the local style 
disappeared during Roman occupation. 

In the xith century, our ceramists had begun to substitute 
tiled pavements for the mosaics of previous builders. From 1350 
to 1500 we owed our ceramics partly to native artists, partly 
to Italians whom our kings established by the Loire. Those 
Italians understood glazing and enamelling, but kept their 
secrets jealously ; B. Palissy, (a Huguenot who died in the 
Bastille in 1390), spent all hiss means on the re-discovery 
of those processes. Within his life-time, Beauvais was famous 
for its blue, green, and brown stone vases, and Rouen for its 
gourds and tiles. In the xviith century, our ceramics reached 
their full development, in a manner quite different from furniture 
and tapestry : our earthenware masters kept away from the 
Gobelins, so that their art preserved great variety* Rouen 
held the first rank at one time ; Nevers (Centre), under Italian 
guidance at first, became the supplier of the Royal Household ; 
Moustiers (extreme S.-E.) maintained a very high standard after 
the dechne of both Rouen and Nevers in the xviiith ; Marseilles, 
Alsace, Lorraine, Paris and Lyons, Lille and Valenciennes, pro- 
duced an abundance of most varied and charming earthenware. 

But, as early as 1664, Claude Reverend claimed to have discov- 
ered the secret of Eastern porcelain. Rouen and Orleans 
began to work in china almost at once, amidst general indifference. 

- 64- 



" DEPARTEMENTS " 

In 1695, Chicanneau, of Saint-Cloud, imagined china modelling, 
and his work found warm and immediate support from the Duke 
of Orleans. Several other firms were soon founded in the neigh- 
bourhood of Paris. One at Sevres, in 1751, was patronized by 
Louis XV, and gradually became a National institution, which 
it has remained to this day. 

Books recommended. — Emile Bayard. Vart de reconnaitre les styles (Gamier, 
5 fr.). and other volumes, each bearing on one period, by the same author. 

See also : Arts. 



"DEPARTEMENTS" (" chefs-lieux " ; and situation). — France, 
including Corsica, and excluding Algeria, comprises 86 " departe- 
ments " , and the " Territoire de Belfort ". The " chef-lieu " is 
not always the most important town, but the most central ; e. g. 
Rheims is only a "sous-prefecture. " (See pages 197, and 203.) 



AiN. Bourg. East. 
AiSNE. Laon. North. 
Allier. Moulins. Centre. 
Alpes-Maritimes. Nice. S. E. 
Ardeche. Privas. S. W. 
Ardennes. Mezieres. E. 
Ariege. Foix. S. W. 
Aube. Troyes. E. 
AuDE. Carcassonne. S. W. 
Avevron. Rodez. S. W. 
Basses-Alpes. Digne. S. E. 
Basses-Pyr6nees. Pau. S. W. 
Bouches-du-Rh6ne. Marseilles. S. E. 
Calvados. Caen. N. W. 
Cantal. Aurillac. C. 
Charente. Angouleme. W. 
Charente-Inferieure. La Rochelle. W. 
Cher. Bourges. C. 
CoRREZE. Tulle. C. 
Corse. Ajaccio. S. E. 
Cote-d'Or. Dijon. E. 
Cotes-du-Nord. Saint-Brieuc. N. W. 
Creuse. Gueret. C. 
Deux-Sevres. Niort. W. 
Dordogne. Perigueux. S. W. 
DouBS. Besangon. E. 
Drome. Valence. S. E. 
EuRE. Evreux. N. W. 
EuRE-ET-LoiR. Chartres. W. 
FiNisTERE. Quimpsr. W. 
Gard. Nimes. S. E. 
Gers. Auch. S. W. 
Gironde. Bordeaux. S. W. 
Hautes-Alpes. Gap. S. E. 
Haute-Garonne. Toulouse. S. W. 
Haute-Loire. Le Puy. C. 
Haute-Marne. Chaumont. E. 



Hautes-Pyrenees. Tarbcs. S. W. 
Haute-Saone. Vesoul. E. 
Haute-Savoie. Annecy. S. E. 
Haute-Vienne. Limoges. C. 
Herault. Montpellier. S. 
Ille-et-Vilaine. Rennes. W. 
Indre. Chateauroux. C. 
Indre-et-Loire. Tours. C. 
Isere. Grenoble. S. E. 
Jura. Lons-le-Saulnier. E. 
Landes. Mont-de-Marsan. S. W. 
Loir-et-Cher. Blois. C. 
Loire. Saint-Etienne. C. 
Loire-InfArieure. Nantes. W. 
LoiRET. Orleans. C. 
Lot. Cahors. S. W. 
Lot-et-Garonne. Agen. S. W. 
LoziRE. Mende. S. W. 
Maine-et-Loire. Angers. W. 
Manche. Saint-L6. W. 
Marne. Chalons-sur-Marne. E. 
Mayenne. Laval. W. 
Meurthe-et-Moselle. Nancy. E. 
Meuse. Bar-le-Duc. E 
MoRBiHAN. Vannes. W. 
Nievre. Nevers. C. 
NoRD. Lille. N. 
OisE. Beauvais. N. 
Orne. Alengon. N. W. 
Pas-de-Calais. Arras. N. 
Puy-de-D6me. Clermont-Ferrand. C. 
Pyrenees-Orientales. Perpignan. S. 
Rhone. LyOn. S. E. 
Sa6ne-et-Loire. Macon. E. 
Sarthe. Le Mans. N. W. 
Savoie. Chambery. S. E. 
Seine. Paris. N. 



SAILLENS 



-65- 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Seine.et-Marne. Melun. N. E. 
Seine-et-Oise. Versailles. N. W. 
Seine-Inferieure. Rouen. N. W. 
SoMME. Amiens. N. 
Tarn. Albi. S. W. 
Tarn-et-Garonne. Montauban. S. W. 



Var. Draguignan. S, E. 
Vaucluse. Avignon. S. E. 
Vendee. La Roclie-sur-Yon. W. 
Vienne. Poitiers. W. 
Vosges. Epinal.' E. 
Yonne. Auxerre. E. 



Algeria includes the three " deparfements "of: Alger, Or an, 

Constantine. 

DOMESTIC ANIMALS. — Our domestic animals are distin- 
guished by natural qualities, as against English breeds, which 
owe so much to artificial selection. The English have evolved 
the race-horse, the short-horn, etc.; we have not gone far beyond 
our natural stocks, which, in many regions, reach excellence. 
There is no better horse for light draught than the " perche- 
ron " (West) ; it has been so much appreciated in America that 
few of the breed are left us now. 

Our Horses vary with regions and climates, ranging from the 
huge heavy brewer's horse of Boulogne to the Corsican pony. 
As a rule, French horses are, like their masters, frugal, hardy, 
and stronger than their looks. The breeds naturally produced 
in Brittany, Ardennes, Lorraine, Poitou, Auvergne, are noted for 
their endurance. A very good cross is the " Anglo-N ormand. " 
(See also Races and Nationalities; Arabs.) 

Our Dogs vary in size from the tall mountain dogs of Mount 
Saint-Bernard {Alps) and of the Pyrenees, to the Ardennes 
" basset " (similar to the German terrier). Our best hounds are 
the " chiens-courants " oi Normandy, Artois, Saintonge (West), 
and the " braque " of Saint- Germain. The " dogue de Bordeaux " 
is a huge unamiable guardian. The famous French poodle we 
ourselves call " caniche " ; we regard it as the most intelligent of 
dogs. The English bull-dog has had a French offspring : the 
" bouledogue frangais ". Our best sheep-dogs are those of Brie 
and Beauce. 

French Cattle belongs to nine main stocks, branching into 
scores of varieties. The tallest variety is the Flemish, the smallest 
are the Breton 3L.nd.th.e Corsican. The best milker is ihe"Nor- 
mande ", at least in Normandy : Normande cows, when imported 
into Gascony (S.-W.), lose their milk in a few years. 

The Donkey is a great favourite with us ; it is the horse of 
the poor, and does extremely well in the drier regions of France. 
A large variety is much appreciated by the Mule-breeders of 
Poitou. The ass, being very hardy and particular at the same 
time, is never consumptive, and the milk of the she-ass is often 
prescribed to consumptive patients by our doctors. 

The Goat is to the cow what the ass is to the horse. We 
have goats mostly in the South. Every woman will have one or 
two ; the village shepherd collects them all in the morning, op. 
his way to the fields, and returns them at night. 

- 66 ^ 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



Sheep we breed mostly in the Centre, South and West, 
wherever the chmate is not too damp or cold. The sheep 
of Champagne, Berri, Cevennes, Gascony, are the best known. 

Our finest Pigs are all in the West, South west and Centre, 
the most famous breed being that of Craon (between Normandy 
and Brittany). 

To that same district belong our finest Fowls. Our best breeds 
of hens, hardly surpassed anywhere, are those of Houdan, Fave- 
roiles, La Fleche, Le Mans, Gournay, Bresse, Barbezieux, Creve- 
coeur, most of them in the N.-W. 

Our Pigeons and Rabbits call for no other remark than this : our 
farmers do not breed them for prize-shows, or "to amuse the chil- 
dren ". Pigeons and small green peas are a favourite dish of 
ours. Rabbits, cooked with wine, are excellent. The French 
peasant seldom deals with a butcher, except to sell him cattle ; 
a little pork every day, and a rabbit now and then, are quite 
enough for him. A rabbit, on the market, will fetch from 3 to 
6 francs. The skin is carefully turned inside out, and stuffed 
with straw ; one day the specialist calls and buys it for a few pence. 
The Turkey we call "dindon" ("potilet d'Inde" ), because it came 
to us from the "West Indies". It prospers exceedingly in our 
S.-W. where it wanders about the fields all da3^ and perches in the 
trees at night. The Goose of Toulouse is almost as well-known in 
England as our turkey. 

Our epicures particulary appreciate the guinea-hen, the hen 
of Madagascar, the barbary-duck, and the ducks from the Rouen 
district. We breed ostriches at Nice, and Algiers. 



France 1840. 


HORSES 


5ICIES 


DOCKETS 


CATTLE 


SHEEP 


PICS 


2.818.500 


373.800 


413.500 


II. 761. 550 


32.151.450 


4.910.700 


France 1913. 


3.222.150 


188.300 


360.000 


14.705.900 


16.467.700 


6.903.750 


France 19 15. 


2.209.191 


- 


- 


12.520.106 


12.261.782 


4.909 886 


U. K. 1913- 


1..874.264 


- 


- 


11.936.600 


27.629.200 


3.305.800 


U. S. 1913. 


20.567.000 


4.449.000 


- 


56.592.000 


49.719.000 


58.933.000 


Goats (France, 1915) i. 231. 379 



Books recommended. — Jules Renard, Histoires naturclles (humorous) 
(E. Flammarion) . — Diffloth, Races chevalines ; Races bovines ; Mouions, cMvres, pores ! 
Lapins, chiens, chais {BaAlliere, 6 fr. each). — -Voitellier, Aviculture (Bailliere, 6 fr.). 

- 67 - 



" DOT " 

" DOT " (portion, dowry, dower). — All Frenchmen are not 
dowry-hunters (" coureurs de dot "), but the prospects of the girl 
are generally taken into consideration by the parents, by whose 
advice the young man is generally guided. (Guided does not 
mean led.) 

It should be pointed out that we draw as a rule a fine distinc- 
tion between love and marriage. Love we regard more or less as 
a personal matter and an accident, something incalculable which 
happens to yourself only, of which the person loved may even 
know nothing ; whereas marriage is a social and calculable neces- 
sity. Love your wife, or your husband, by all means, but the 
happiness of both, and that of your children and parents will 
be all the greater, in the long run, if you have conformed to certain 
social conventions and sensible rules of business and conduct. 
Do not depend on love exclusively, says French wisdom : for it 
may go as it came ; marriage being a thing that must endure, 
its harmony must be made to depend on reliable factors, such 
as the " family constitutions ", social rank, tastes and habits, 
and... " securities ". 

The young people are apt to ignore those rules, but such is the 
creed of their elders, and French marriage concerns the elders al- 
most as much as the principals. If a man is an orphan, he must 
get the permission of his grandparents before he can marry... 
Say a young man has been attracted by some girl, and thinks she 
might make a good wife ; he tells his parents about it. The latter 
make full enquiry, if necessary, then call on the girl's parents, and 
discuss things with them. The young people as a rule merely 
find one another, and concern themselves only with the senti- 
mental aspects of the situation; the dutiful parents arrange their 
future life for them ; so can Romeo and Juliet be poetical to 
their hearts' content, — the prose passages in the play do not 
concern them. (This arrangement works better, for a whole 
nation, than sporadic Eugenic societies.) 

Sometimes the girl's parents, or the man's, return to their 
offspring unsatisfactory information about the prospective 
parents-in-law. Conflicts may and do ensue, with solutions 
ranging from final compliance to elopement or suicide, accord- 
ing to temperaments, education, and seasons... Be it borne 
in mind, however, that in the vast majority of cases, family 
discipline, like others, has declined, and the parents seldom use 
the power that the law still grants them. 

Two other points should be remembered. Equality is a strong 
element in the Gallic temperament. We do not see why, if the 
man has an income, the wife should not have one ; a French 
father likes to ensure his daughter's independence to some extent, 
even when she leaves him. Again, French marriage being essen- 
tially a family affair, a French father will take care that his grand- 
children are provided for ; he will, in some cases, settle on his 

— 68 — 



DRINKS 

daughter and her children to come, a capital which the husband 
can under no circumstances break into. Many husbands profit 
very little, if at all, by the " dot " of their wives. 

There must be something in that institution which already 
existed amongst us before Roman times, for there are practically 
no spinsters in France, and no suffragettes. 

Books recommended. — On the Dot, see Cheruel, DicUonnaire historique ; — 
on Wedding Ceremonies, see the books of Baronne Staffe (under : Etiquette). — 
Kelly (E.), French Law of Marriage, Marriage Contracts and Divorce. (1895) 



DRINKS. — Wine is the daily beverage of rich and poor in the 
Centre, East, West, and South of France ; the North-East and 
the North drink beer ; the North- West, cider. 

Wine costs anything between 4 centimes and 40 francs a bottle ; 
now and then, in plentiful years, the newspaper-advertisements 
offer one barrel of wine sent by rail free of charge, to any person 
sending two empty wine-barrels to the producer. " Vin ordi- 
naire " , in Paris, before the war, ranged from i franc to 35 cen- 
times a quart. 

Nice distinctions are drawn, rightly it seems, between red 
wine and white. White is supposed to make a man cheery and 
nimble, to act favourably on the brain, nerves, and kidneys. It 
is a wine for the early morning, for summer, for sportsmen, etc. 
Soldiers on a march are strongly advised by their chiefs not to 
drink any red wine, or spirits (which would " cut off their legs "), 
but white wine exclusively. Red is like rich food, apt to make 
a man unfit for immediate exertion ; the same labourer who 
cannot do without his quart of red at every meal (a common 
allowance in the working-class), will generally avoid red wine 
during working hours. 

White seldom falls below a certain grade of quality ; the cheaper 
white wines always sell a little higher than the cheaper reds. 

White wine is made from black grapes as a rule ; it is the case 
with champagne. 

A surprising habit of ours is that Frenchmen of the better 
classes never take wine between meals, unless it is foreign or 
heavy wine, such as Vermouth, or Banyuls. The working 
classes, on the contrary, will drink wine at any time of day. 

Besides the three great divisions into champagne (i2°2), 
Bordeaux (claret) (ii°5), and Burgundy (i3''6), some wines 
deserve notice for various reasons. 

A heavy coarse wine produced in the Charente, gives by distil- 
lation the famous brandy of the town of Cognac. A great deal 
of "cognac" used to be consumed in the U. K. ; the phylloxera, by 
destroying our vineyards, and stopping all supplies for a consi- 
derable period, caused French brandy to be replaced by whiskey. 
The great advantage of whiskey over brandy is that of beer over 

- 69 - 



DRINKS 

wine : beer and whiskey are almost industrial productions ; they 
depend for their quantity and quality on art more than nature. 
The same vineyard does not yield exactly the same wine two 
years running; as to the quantity, it varies with rainfall, frosts, etc. 
to an extraordinary degree. Comets are supposed to exert an 
excellent influence over wine ; but trade does not care to depend 
on meteors. 

In the Cognac district, a plain called Cha.mTp3igne{" champagne " 
being a common noun formerly used to designate any extent of 
flat open country), yields the best cognac, known as "Fine- 
champagne ", which has nothing to do with Champagne wine. 



DRINKS (Includ 

Increase of average yearly con 



•1830* 



ing 4&tiga.t*) = 

kumption pernead,inFrance 



»1914- 




" Armagnac" is another famous brandy, prepared S. of the 
Garonne, from a wine similar to Cognac wine. 

The pressed-grapes of Burgundy give a brandy called "marc " 
or "eau-de-vie de marc". 

Roussillon (East Pyrenees) gives a strong sweet wine : 
" Banyuls" (about 19 degrees). 

Languedoc yields an abundant supply of the cheap red 
wine known in Paris as " vin ordinaire" . Beziers, Cette, and 
Narbonne, are three towns that live on the wine-trade of that 
region. 

In 1913, we possessed 1,2,^9 distilleries, and 3,300 private siz7/s. 

The vine was first planted in France by the Greeks, in 600 B. 
C. The yearly production now reaches an average of 1.560 mill- 
ion gallons (The Algerian production is about ten times less). 



— 70 — 



DtllNkS 

Italy comes next in the world with 31 million hectol. ; Spain : 23. 
French wines, in 191 3, have yielded a profit of : 

" Vins ordinaires". . . . 1.389.836.500 
' Vins superieurs " . . . . 115.655.855 

Total I •505-492. 355 francs. 

Cider and Perry (" cidre"," poire "), are the drinks of Normandy, 
Brittany, and Maine. We produced 51,268,910 cwt. of apples and 
pears in 1913, giving 574,852,520 gallons of cider and perry ; in 
1916 : 8,266,620 cwt., giving 128,086,640 gallons (1,365 cider- 
works). 

Bottled cider reaches about 9 degrees. From cider is distilled 
a strong brandy called " calvados " . 

Flanders, Artois, Picardy, make and drink Beer^ of poor 
quality as a rule (3" to 4°). From Lorraine come good beer 
and good wine. France, in 1913, had 2,619 breweries, and 
367 malt-houses. 

The frugal French farmer drinks very cheap substitutes for 
wine and cider, obtained by pouring water over the pressed- 
apples or grapes. Those drinks contain little sugar besides what 
is added to them by the farmer, and are called " piquettes " 
(" piquer" = to sting). 

Picardy makes ash-cider {" cidre de frene " , or " frenette"), 
with ash-leaves, sugar, and tartric acid. It is most refreshing, 
and a good preventive against gout. 

Liqueurs are popular and innumerable ; they vary with each 
province, and most householders have some special recipes for 
the preparation of one of them at least. Their characteristic 
flavour depending essentially on the aroma of certain herbs or 
fruits, each must be prepared in its particular home. When the 
famous firm of the " Chartreuse " left the Alpine districts where 
grew the various plants essential to the liquor, it had to be 
removed to another mountainous site, Terragona, in N. Spain. 

"Absinthe" , the famous appetizer {"aperitif"), which had 
become a national curse, and was prohibited at the beginning 
of this war, is of Swiss origin (mountain herbs again). It was 
first used to some extent by the French in Algeria, during the 
conquest, in 1840. The bad water having seriously affected 
the health of the troops, an officer recommended the addition of 
a few drops of absinthe in every glass of water ; the compound 
proved refreshing, wholesome, and delicious. The use of absinthe 
was at first confined to colonial officers and men ; from them it 
gradually spread to the nation; adulteration and abuse did the rest. 

" Benedictine " is all prepared in the former Abbey of Fecamp : 
440,000 gallons a year. 

Strangers to our land are sometimes disappointed at the small- 
ness of our liqueur glasses... They say that a certain English- 
man, on being offered some liqueur in one of those thimbles, 

- 71 — 



DUELS 

Swallowea it at one gulp, and then, thinking that the Frenck 
custom must be to sample those things first, and have a real 
drink afterwards, merely said, with a smile of expectation : 
" Why, yes, I think I'll have some of that ! " 

Books recommended. — Special works on the preparation of wines, cider, 
liqueurs, etc., publ. by Bailliere, Paris. Also : L. Goulette, L'Absinthe et Valcool 
dans la Defense nationale: Russie, France, Grande-Bretagne (Berger-Levrault, 2 fr. 50). 



DUELS. — Some of us still believe that in certain cases, no 
third party whatever has any right to step in between two men 
who want to " have it out ". At the same time we still share 
the old aristocratic prejudice against fisticuffs (" Jeux de mains, 
jeux de vilains "). Boxing is to us no more than a form of sport, 
like swimming, or a trick of self-defence, like Jiu-jitsu, barred 
between gentlemen as the use of gases should be on the battle- 
field... Hence the survival of duelling in France, in spite of its 
having been repressed ever since Saint Louis (especially by Riche- 
lieu), and of its being illegal to-day. (The duellist who kills his 
opponent is regarded by the law as a murderer pure and simple.) 

It has declined to some extent ; the time is gone, — not by 
many years however, — when a journalist who wished to write 
exactly as he pleased took good care first of all to take lessons 
in fencing or shooting. Yet we used to see in the papers now 
and then, before the war, some brief announcement that " an 
encounter had taken place somewhere near Paris. 

The following is as good an instance as any of the present twi- 
light stage .,of duelling in France. In 19..., a member of the 
French cabinet was talking with a deputy, when the latter seemed 
to notice that the minister's secretary displayed too visibly his 
impatience of the said deputy's ideas and style. The deputy, 
let us call him Mr. X, remonstrated with the minister, who reas- 
sured him as courteously as he could, but Mr. X. refused to be 
appeased, high words flew about, and two friends of Mr. X. called 
on the minister the next morning. This gentleman gave them 
the names of two friends of his. The four seconds discussed 
the situation, then drafted a document ending as follows : 

" Those gentlemen were unable to come to an agreement as 
to the conclusion which it would be suitable to give to this affair, 
and have therefore regarded their mission as terminated. 

" In witness thereof they have signed the above report. 
(Here followed the four sgnatures.) 

This meant neither more nor less than that one party insisted 
on having a duel, and the other on having none. On receiving 
this report, Mr. X. wrote to his seonds : 
" My dear Friends, 

" I apologize to you for disturbing you in vain. I perceive 
with regret that Mr. Z. (the minister) is so young for his age 
that I cannot take the liberty of insisting on calling him out to 

- 72 - 



£M6LEMS, f'LAGS, MOTTOfiS 

an encounter which he means to avoid. Once agaii^ many 
thanks and heartily yours... 

Thus was the incident closed ; both men are alive and well 
to-day, and as respected as ever they were. 

There have been very few duels, and none at all between civil- 
ians, since this war began. One case was reported from the 
front some months ago; it assumed an unusual form. Two 
French officers, after a bad quarrel, decided that " something 
must be done, " although no Frenchman could attempt to kill 
another so long as one Boche was in the field. So they both 
stood on the parapet for a given number of minutes, in full 
view of the Boches, and shooting at them of course. They 
both survived the experiment, and cordially shook hands over it. 

EMBLEMS, FLAGS, MOTTOES. — Although our first Kings had 
probably adopted the bee, it may be said that the emblem of 
royalist France was the famous " fleur-de-lis " , or " fiower-de- 
luce ", which has naturally found its way into the British coat-of- 
arms. It should be noted however that the spelling ("lis" = lily), 
and the innumerable allusions to the " proud lilies of France ", 
are equally misleading ; the spike-like shape of the three-petalled 
flower, and its golden colour, are those of the wild iris that grew 
about the marshes of the Seine where the old Louvre was built. 
As early as the ixth century the fleur-de-lis adorned the crown 
of the French King ; but it did mot become the official emblem 
before the xiith century, when it first figured on the King's coin. 

The Revolution, always bent on classical reminiscences, revived 
the old Roman pun : gallus was the Latin for " Gaul " and for 
" cock. " So the cock was chosen as the national emblem. At 
the same time the young Republic was represented as a woman, 
with Greek features, and wearing the red bonnet of the Phrygian 
republic of old. 

Napoleon disdained the cock, " who lives on dunghills, " he 
said, and adopted the eagle ; an emblem of classical origin also, 
but savouring of Roman military power, not of French farm-life, 
courage and vigilance (" The eagle lives on carrion, " retorted the 
opponents of Napoleon). The bee, representative of work and 
order (sweetness and light, said Swift), was the personal emblem 
of the Emperor. 

Louis XVIII and Charles X brought back the fleur-de-lis ; Louis- 
Philippe revived the democratic cock. Napoleon III used 
his uncle's eagle. The Third Republic has a cock on its gold 
coins. 

But, of late years, a new emblem has appeared : " la Semeuse " 
designed by the great medallist Roty. A young vigorous woman, 
wearing the Phrygian bonnet, treads with decided steps, sowing 
— is it wheat... or ideas ? — broadcast. The wind blows against 
her... but the sun is rising ! 

— 73 — 



EMBLEMS, FLAGS, MOTTOES 

Our first flag, or pavilion, was the blue cope of Saint Martin, 
under which his relics were carried about with the armies in the 
field. Above it streamed a large square banner, blue with gol- 
den fleur-de-lis. Relics, dais, and banner, moved on a huge 
chariot ; during a battle, ten knights mounted guard over them, 
while ten trumpets blew continously. 

In 1124, when France was invaded by the Emperor of Germany, 

King Louis took 
from upon the al- 
tar of St. Denis 
Abbey the •• ori- 
flamme " of the 
saint ; it was a 
flame-coloMxed 
pennant on a gilt 
staff. The saint 
and the emblem 
were popular ; 
and the people 
rallied to it. The 
Emperor was 
routed. 

The banner of 
Saint Martin, the 
" oriflamme " of 
Saint Denis, a 
white cornet per- 
sonal to the king, 
and another royal 
banner in the 
form of a blue 
pennant with four 
fleur-de-lis, were 
used jointly for a 
time. Then, 
from the xvith 
century (acces- 
sion of the Bour- 
bonbranch, 1589) 
fleur-de-lis, remained the only 




The raising of the oriflamme of Saint Denis 
at St. Denis Abbey in 1917. 



the white cornet, strewn with 

flag. . . 

In 1789, when a National Guard, mostly consisting of Parisians 
at first, since it originated in Paris, replaced the foreign troops of 
the King (see page 96), La Fayette, their newly appointed chief, 
gave them cockades in which the blue of Navarre, and the red of 
Paris associated with the white of the Bourbons. From that day, 
the tricolour remained our flag, save for the period of absolute 
monarchy (Louis XVIII and Charles X), between Napoleon and 
Louis-Philippe (1815-1830). 

- 74 - 



ETIQUETTE 

The war-cry of old France was : " Montjoye et Saint-Denis ! " 
The motto of the Revolution was " Liberie, Egalite, Fraternite, ou 
la Mart ! " The present Republic omits the latter portion. The 
motto of the Army and Navy is: " Honneur et Patrie. 

The personal arms of Louis XIV were a full sun, with the motto : 
Nee pluribus impar ("and not unequal to several more "), mean- 
ing that just as the sun could easily light more worlds than it 
does, so the Mighty- King could have managed other empires... 



ETIQUETTE. — On some points the French are more punctilious, 
on others less so, than Americans or Britishers. For instance, we 
think' our neighbours are too shy of strangers, and insist unduly 
on not addressing a person before a proper introduction has taken 
place. On the other hand, Frenchmen who meet every day in 
the year four times a day, will take off their hats to one another, 
and shake hands, every time they meet. (However, our Ally will 
note with dismay that, as often as not, the Frenchman will offer 
his left hand, or shake hands with two persons at the same time !) 

There was a time when a woman was always offered a seat in a 
car. That time is practically gone, so far as our great cities are 
concerned ; indeed a lady will often refuse a seat, or evince some 
embarrassment when offered one, so greatly have modern hurry 
and equality of classes and sexes, done away with the little atten- 
tions of courteous slow-moving days. To put the case in a 
nut-shell, the tired workman, who has to take a long journey on 
the " Metro " (underground railway of Paris) does not see why 
he should give up his seat : to a succession of ladies returning 
from " useless " shopping, or a visit to their aunt, who travel 
second class — his class — because they wish to save a penny... 
Things are quite different in the country. 

As letter-writers, we are more distant than our Allies. We 
write : " Monsieur, " when they would write : " Dear Sir, " and 
would never dream of concluding a letter, unless we were in haste, 
and writing to a particular friend, with a mere " Yours truly." 
Modern ways have not caught us up yet, on that point. 

We generally terminate on some formula, the exact wording 
of which is a matter of great nicety, and sometimes calls for 
serious consideration. As a rule, this concluding sentence begins 
with: " Veuillez agreer. Monsieur," or " cher Monsieur," or, 
" cher ami," etc.... then the difficulties begin! To an inferior 
(republican equality notwithstanding), we send the "assurance " 
of our " best sentiments " (utter indifference) ; to an equal or a 
superior, the "expression" of our " profond respect" (formal 
regard), of our " respectueux devouement " (slightly warmer), or 
of our " sentiments les plus distingues " (a real effort at poli- 
teness), etc., etc. As a rule, when writing to a lady, the word 
" respect(s) " and the word " hommage(s) " are recommended... 

- 75 — 



ETIQUETTE 

The combinations of the dozen words in use are almost infinite ; 
it is all as delicate and complex as good cooking. 

The American or Britisher, when ignorant of our ittle conven- 
tions, is sometimes shocked at the contrast between what he had 
taken for a very cordial phrase, and the indifferent behaviour that 
came in its train. He should remember that it is all a matter of 
" language. " A Frenchman would not have been misled by 
what was merely a polite way of saying : " Good morning ; I have 
no particular wish to see you again. ' On the other hand, the 
American or Britisher will often appear to us co d or rude, when 
he meant to be perfectly simple and friendly. For instance, a 
Frenchman who hears the familiar phrase : " Look us up when you 
can, " translating this into his own conventional language, under- 
stands that the next interview is put off indefinitely. Unless he 
had spoken to a relative or a very intimate friend, he would have 
gone to the trouble of fixing a day. He does not take his British 
or American friend literally. 

Again, a Frenchman will often refuse a second helping of a dish, 
expecting his Eng ish or American host to press him, as he him- 
self invariably presses his own guests at home. His surprise is 
great, when he sees his host, in the innocence of his heart, put down 
the carving-knife at once without another word... 

All a matter of language... 

N. B. — We always write " Monsieur ", "Madame ", "Made- 
moiselle " in full, when addressing an envelope ; 

Always offer our le'ft arm to a lady, our right arm being the 
better able of the two to assist or protect her ; but the right 
is the more honourable side, and we always leave the right seat 
in a carriage to a lady or a superior ; 

Always touch our hat with our right hand ; 

Always salute a superior first: therefore a gentleman, even an 
old one, will always salute a lady first, even if she is j^oung; 

It is still our custom, in provincial towns, to take our hats off 
when entering a shop : a hat, like a knife, is best out of the way, 
unless in actua use ; 

We always bid good-bye, before leaving a house ; when we are 
compelled to act otherwise, we call it " taking English leave " 
" filer a I'anglaise " . 

The mistress of the house, with us, regards it as her privilege 
to present the cups of tea or the cakes, to her guests, personally... 

" The visitor to our land, however, should never feel awkward, 
because he may be ignorant of some of our little ways ; manners, 
in any country, rest on the same foundation : caring for others ; 
and if he really cares for others, we shall soon feel it, even if on 
some minor points he may not express his consideration exactly 
in the same way as we express ours. " (Franco-American Weekly. ) 

Books recommended. — Baronne Staffe's. Savoir-vivre ; Correspondance ; Mai' 
resse de maisoii ; Traditions culinaires ; La femme dans la famille, etc. (E. Flamma- 
ion, 4 fr. per vol.). 

-76- 



FAIRS 



FAIRS (" foires ") differ from markets on two points : they 
are annual, and coincide with festivities (" foire " comes from 
Lat. feria : festival). Every town and village in France has 
its patron saint ; we still have fairs in every borough, on the 
" fete " day of the local saint (see : Red-letter days), although 
such meetings nowadays are very far from being as important 
as in the Middle Ages. 

The great commercial axis of France runs from Marseilles to 
Calais, along the narrow Rhone valley, up the Saone, down the 
Marne, to Paris, Picardy,and Flanders (See Map, page 242). The 
Greeks, long before the Romans, and perhaps the Phoenicians 
before the Greeks, used that route. The great mediaeval fairs 
were all located on it. Beaucaire was a famous centre of distri- 
bution until recent times ; as a rule, the goods would travel by 
boat as far up as Lyons, and there be dispersed in all directions. 
Most of them went northwards to Champagne, where the mer- 
chants from Italy and Provence could best meet those of Ger- 
many and England. Special ordinances ensured the safety of 
their transactions. The fairs of Champagne were under the 
discipline of " captains " elected by all merchants present, 
including Mohammedans. In 1297, some traders from Lucca 
failed to keep some agreement, and the captain for that year 
banished all Italian merchants from Champagne fairs. Albert de 
Medicis (capitaneus et rector universalis niercatorum Italice) had to 
intervene ; Italians were readmitted, but not those of Lucca... 

The great fair of the Parisian district was called the " Landit " ; 
it was held at Saint-Denis, from October 10 to 20. A fresco in the 
Sorbonne shows a mediaeval rector riding to Saint-Denis, escorted 
by his students ; he is going to purchase at the " Landit " all 
the parchment that his University will require for the year. This 
fair owed its institution to Dagobert (628-638 A. D.). 

Those fairs of the Middle Ages were important factors in the 
formation of our social, economic, and linguistic unification. 

Paris has now four great fairs : the " old-iron fair ", the " ham 
and ginger-bread fair ", the fair of Saint-Cloud and that of 
Neuilly. The first two are held in the East of Paris; the others 
just outside, and in the West. 

Toulouse, being Southern and happy, has a fair every Sunday 
morning ; you can buy anything there, from new furniture to old 
songs or magic herbs, if you only take the trouble to look for it ; 
this fair is called I' inquest : " the search. " 

Paris has had World's Fairs in 1855, 1867, 1878, 1889, 1900. 
Lyons, resuming its tradition, and taking advantage of its excep- 
tional situation, has held fairs during this war, with a view to 
instituting a permanent competitor to the fair of Leipzig, 



-77- 



FRONTIERS AND FORTIFICATIONS 



FRONTIERS AND FORTIFICATIONS.— Our frontiers are natural, 
and easily defended, in all directions save the N.-E. 

1. The Channel and the Mediterranean fleets defend our 
Northern and Southern coast-lines ; 

2. Forts in the Pyrenees and the Alps, very obsolete in the 
former, but excellent in the latter, and manned by the "Chasseurs 
Alpins", suffice for our defence on our S. and E. land-frontiers. 

3. The long wall of the Jura, behind which lie the enormous 
natural defence and the neutrality of Switzerland, has but a few 
breaks, held by forts not of the first order. 

Nice bars the coast route from Italy, while Grenoble com- 
mands the main valleys of the Alps. 

4. From the Jura to the Ardennes, and further north, the situa- 
tion is totally different. There the only limit fixed by Nature 
between Gallic and Germanic populations is the Rhine ; but as 
soon as the Romans had left Gaul, the German began to move 
southwards, just as the Pict crossed Hadrian's Wall as soon as 
Britain was left undefended. French power gradually expanded 
from Paris northwards, until the left bank of the Rhine was 
under the protectorate of Louis XIV (we had Regiments who 
proudly called themselves " Les Allemands de France"), and at 
last was completely ours in the XVIIIth century. But the 
Holy Alliance of 1815 played into the hands of Prussia, and 
made her the guardian of the left bank. (Be it noted that 
Prussia is not even Germanic, but Slav, while the inhabitants 
of the left bank of the Rhine are mostly Celts like ourselves...). 
Therefore, since the downfall of Napoleon, our N.-E. frontier 
has been purely conventional. It is all the more dangerous to 
us as the Germans took good care, in 1871, to make it further 
secure for themselves by annexing excellent lines of defence 
partly natural (Vosges), partly artificial (Metz). Even nature 
in this case is against us, all the rivers (Sambre, Scheldt, 
Moselle, Meuse, Lys) running perpendicular to the frontier, and 
opening roads toward Paris, which is situated only 150 miles away. 

This is what was done, after 1871, by Sere de Rivieres, Director 
of Engineering at our War Office : 

From the Jura to the Ardennes, he built two lines of defences. 
The first was a line of forts connecting the great fortresses of 
Belfort, Epinal, Tout, Verdun. The second line runs between 
and includes Besangon, Dijon, Langres, Rheims. It is worth 
noting that none of those places has been taken ; the Germans 
thought them so strong that they violated Belgium rather than 
attempt to break through them. Even Nancy, which was no 
part of the system, and had been fortified only just before the 
war, and in a few months, stood their assaults triumphantly. 

5. From the Ardennes to the N . Sea, the defences " need not be so 
formidable, on account of Belgian neutrality ". ( " Geographie de la 
prance " , Schrader at GaUouedec, Hachette, 1913, page 348.) Ouj: 



78- 



FUNERALS 

forts were unsufficient, and therefore worse than useless, as they 
had to be manned by troops that were wanted elsewhere. Yet 
we had two lines of defences there also, and the positions of the 
cities were good : Dunkirk bars the coast-route ; Lille, the valleys 
of Lys and Scheldt ; Maubeuge, those of Sambre and Oise. Behind 
Maubeuge stand La Fere and Laon. Out of those five places, four 
fell to the Germans from the very beginning. 

As to Paris, the aim of all invaders, it was provided by Sere de 
Rivieres with a new system of defences consisting also of two 
lines of forts ; the outward one has a circuit of 135 kilometres, and 
could not be invested b}^ less than 400,000 men. 

After the terrible lesson given by the fall of Liege and Namur, 
we rapidly improved many of our defences, especially Verdun 
and Paris, by trenches and other works established at a consider- 
able distance from the previous outer line. 

Books recommended. — G. Voulquin, Fronticres fran(aises (Larousse, 3 vol., 

1 tr. 20 each) ; General Maitrot, Nos Froniieres de I'Est et du Nord (Berger-Levrault' 

2 fr. 50). 

FUNERALS — We would never dream of hurrying our dead to 
their graves on motor-hearses, as they do in New York, or even 
driving them there at a trot, as in London. Parisians still walk 
weary miles from house to church and church to cemetery, as if 
Paris was a village. 

Both our regard for death, and the strength of our family 
bonds, make funerals with us important affairs. 

As soon as a person is deceased, all shutters, windows and 
doors are closed, and a relative or a very dear friend remains 
in charge of the body until it is laid into its coffin ; then the coffin 
is watched until it is removed. In many cases, the room is 
transformed into a " chapelle ardente " (filled with tapers and 
flowers) ; then intimate friends are admitted, cast a parting 
glance on the deceased, offer a prayer, and sprinkle the bed 
with holy water. In some cases, the open coffin is laid in 
state in the drawing-room, which is then used as the " chapelle 
ardente " . 

Meanwhile the " Mairie" has been notified of the death, and 
the municipal doctor has been called in; an official certificate is 
drawn up, stating the time and cause of the decease. Except in 
cases of sudden death, the prescriptions of the family doctor are 
examined by the authorities. Arrangements are made with the 
clergy, and the undertaker. The latter prints two sorts of 
notes : some, to invite relatives and friends to the funeral, the 
others merely to inform (" lettres de faire-part ") those who cannot 
be expected' to attend. 

The notes are so worded that the whole family invites 
or informs every relation and friend. The list may con- 
tain over 150 names; it may number no more than a score, but 

- 79 - 



FUNERALS 

then it is followed by such clauses as " and the wJiole family " , or : 
" and the M, N, O, and P. families ". The principle is that no 
member must regard himself as omitted or excluded. 

If the deceased was a married lady, her full maiden name is 
given preceded by " nee ". 

In old-fashioned families, the invitations are issued by the male 
members only ; not even the widow or daughters are mentioned. 

Those few details may give one an idea of the punctilious- 
ness of the French in such matters. A slow procession walks 
to the cemetery ; the clergy precede the hearse, singing litanies or 
saying prayers, bearing a cross, and swinging their censer (they do 
not sing in large towns) ; the chief mourner, then the men, then the 
women, follow the hearse. Behind them drive the carriages 
which will take them home, when all is over. 

Deep mourning lasts about one half of the total period set 
down in each case ; it implies the wearing of black garments, 
and for widows a long thick veil of crape during the first six 
months ; no calls at first, no music at home, no visits to any place 
of amusement, no wearing of flowers. No calls are made on a 
widow for the first six weeks after bereavement, and she returns 
no calls until after a further six weeks ; this means that she visits 
no one for three months. From deep to light mourning, and to 
normal life again, the transition must be slow and tactful. Even 
the black edges of the note-paper must decrease but gradually. 

There is a tendency, in towns, to reduce all those ceremonies 
to a minimum ; but the aristocracy and the peasants, much alike 
on this as on other points, are still very strict. Indeed, the coun- 
try-people intermarry so much, and therefore have to go into 
mourning so often, that their best clothes are always black. 

After the death of husband or wife, mourning lasts two years ; 
for parents or parents-in-law, i8 months; grandparents, 15; 
brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, 10 ; uncle or 
aunt, 6 ; cousins, or godparents, 3 months. Those periods were 
twice as'long, previous to 1700. 

Mourning means not only grief, but respect ; it meant chiefly 
the latter in olden days, when a father did not go into mourning 
for a son, nor an uncle for a nephew. Now, we show more feeling, 
and a grandmother will go into mourning for her grandson. We 
sometimes go into mourning on the death of a friend ; we call 
this " deuil de courtoisie ". 

If a marriage was already arranged when the decease occurred, 
the marriage will be postponed by one month or two, black cloth- 
ino^ put off for the day, and resumed the next. A bride whose 
groom is in mourning will go into mourning directly after marriage, 
starting exactly from the period reached by the husband. 

There are two things that every Frenchman will salute very 
quietly, but invariably : the flag of a regiment, and a funeral. 



GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE 



GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE. — Roughly, France has the shape 
of a regular hexagon : it is almost as compact as possible. 

Draw a vertical line, lo inches long (i in. representing loo kil.) 
(lookil. = 62.1 miles). At the top of the line, write Dunkirk, at 
the bottom : Perpignan; 
2.5 in. from the top, on 
the line: Paris; 2.5 in. 
below Bourges; i in. up 
from the bottom : Car- 
cassonne ; I in. further 
up : Albi. 

1. From Paris, 5 in. 
due West : Brest. Dun- 
kirk-Brest is the first 
side of the hexagon, with 
two depressions : the 
Bay of Havre, and the 
Gulf of Saint -Malo ; 
between them the pen- 
insula of Cotentin, at 
the end of which is Cher- 
bourg. 

2. From Dunkirk to 
a point 4 in. due East of 
Paris extends the second 
side. Alsace lies East 
of that point ; Belfort 
slightly S. 

3. From Carcassonne, 3.5 in. due West : Bayonne. Brest- 
Bayonne is the third side of the figure, scooped out by the Bay 
of Biscay. Nantes and Bordeaux divide it into three equal 
portions. 

4. The Pyrenees, Bayonne-Perpignan. Toulouse : i in. N. of 
Pyrenees, 3 /4 in. West of vertical axis. 

5. Nice will be 4 in. due East of Albi. Don't forget the deep 
depression of the Gulf of Lyons between Perpignan and Marseilles 
(half way to Nice). 

6. From Nice due N. extends the sixth side (slightly bent in, 
about the middle, as if the Lake of Geneva was pressing against it) ; 
this is the long wall of Alps, Jura, and Vosges, separating us from 
Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. 

Three sides are land-frontiers ; three are coast -line. The latter 
borders the North Sea, Channel, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, over 
a total of 2,000 miles. 

Max. N.-S. dimension : 1,000 kil. ; W.-E. : 900. Total area : 
536,000 sq. kil. (207,170 sq. miles), (Germany: 540,000 sq. kil. ; 
U. K. : 315,000). 




■^^^.f^V- 



The French hexagon. 



GEOGRAi^HICAL OUTLlNfi 




The relief, from E. to W., is briefly as follows : a) The great 
N.-S. wall of: Alps (over 15,000 feet; Mont Blanc is Fr.); 
Jura (5,600 ft.); Vosges (4,600 ft.); and Ardennes (1,650 ft.). 
b) The Rhone valley, running due S. from the Lake of Geneva 
to Medit. between Alps and Cen- 
tral Range, ending in the plains 
of Provence and Languedoc. 

c) Central Range (Cevennes, and 
extinct volcanoes of Auvergne), 
spreading fan-like westward, lin- 
king up in the N. with Vosges, 
in the S. with Pyrenees (11, 000 feet). 

d) W. of Centr. R. lie the great 
plains of the N.-W. : Sologne, 
Beauce, Picardy, Flanders, etc., 
and those of the S.-W. : Gascony, 
etc. 

e) Further W. are the hills 
of Normandy, Brittany, Vend6e 
(1,200 feet). 

20 rivers flow into the sea; we call them " fleuves " ; " rivieres " 
do not reach the sea directly. Our four great " fleuves " are : 

1. The Seine (776 kil.; 8,100 cubic feet per sec), running N.-W. 
from the C. R., through Troyes, Paris, Rouen, Le Havre. Its 
largest tributaries are : Aube, Yonne, Marne, Oise. 

2. The Loire (980 kil.; 10,200 c. ft. per sec), flowing W. from 
C. R., through Nevers, Orleans, Blois, Tours, Nantes. Tribu- 
taries : Allier, Cher, Vienne, Loiret, Indre, Maine. This last 
waters Angers, and Anjou, famous in English annals. 

3. The Garonne (720 kil. ; 19,000 c.f. per sec), runningN.-W. from 
Pyrenees, through Toulouse, Agen, Bordeaux. Trib. Tarn, Lot, 
Gers, Dordogne. (Garonne and Dordogne become the Gironde.) 

4. The Rhone (812 kil.; 60,000 c ft. per sec), flowing S. from 
Switzerland, through Lyons, Vienne, Avignon ; ends in a delta, W. 



Comparative areas of France 
and the Great Lakes. 



Amazone 120000 



Congo 60000 Yang-Tse Volaa 

-y 2I8OO ggfo 



Comparative volume of water of certain rivers and of the largest river 
of France. (Cubic metres.) 

of which is Nimes, E. of which is Marseilles. Tributaries : Saone, 
Isere, Durance. 

Other " fleuves " of interest are : the Somme, with Amiens; the 
Orne with Caen ; the Vilaine with Rennes ; the Charente with 

— 82 — 



HISTORICAL 

Angouleme, Cognac, Rochefort ; the Adouv with Bayonne ; the 
Aude with Carcassonne. 

Bocks recommended. — Vidal de La Blache, Tableau gSographique de la Franct 
(Hachette, 4 fr. ; illustr. edit. 25 fr.). — Michelet, Introduction to the Histoire di 
France. — O. Reclus, Le plus beau Royaume sous le del (Hachette), 2 fr. ; France, 
Algerie et colonies. — E. Levasseur, Precis de la . geographic physique, politique ei 
economique de la France et de ses colonies, avec petit atlas. — Atlas : Schrader, 
Prudent ct Anthoine (Hachette) ; Vidal-La Blache (Colin). — O. Reclus, GeograpUe 
rapide de la France (Larousse, i fr. 50). 

See also : Information. 

GRENADES. — Were first used about 1588 ; they had been 
invented by an inhabitant of Venloo (a town on the Meuse, in the 
Low Countries). The grains of powder inside them made them 
very similar to grenades filled with pips. The first regular 
" grenadiers " made their appearance in 1667 ; there were only 
four of them for a Company of Infantry ; they carried their bombs 
is special haversacks called " grenadieres ". In 1670, these men 
were grouped in special Companies ; one Company preceding 
certain Regiments. In 1676, Louis XIV had Horse-Grenadiers 
in his Guard. Whole Battalions of grenadiers were formed in 
1 741. The Grenadiers were selected from the tallest and best 
soldiers ; their fine appearance caused them to be regarded as the 
typical soldiers. " Tall as a grenadier, " " to swear like a grena- 
dier, " etc., are still familiar phrases. The famous " Grenadiers 
de la Garde " were the pick of Napoleon's army. 

A flaming grenade has remained the badge of most regiments of 
our infantry, the cuirassiers, etc. 

HISTOBICAL. — History is made up, externally, of decisive or 
representative events ; internally, of slow -moving conditions. 

The history of France is outwardly one of endless wars ; these 
are bred by our pursuance of, or invited by our insufficiency 

in, complete national unity within our natural limits. 

I. — Pre-Roman Gaul, stretching from Rhine to Pyrenees, and 
from Alps to Atlantic, comprised 3 great nations : Belgians, Celts, 
and Iberians (see : page 206). It contained about 12 million peo- 
ple, divided into hundreds of tribes; some of these had kings; many 
of them formed various federations : tribes, kings, federations, 
fought amongst each other. Pre-Roman Gaul was " racially 
strong, politically weak " ; it was weakened by clannish life. _ 

Its certain historv covers 500 years, the last 100 years being a 
transitional period (B. C. 600-50). 

II. — Roman Gaul was outwardly one, through common sub- 
mission to one discipline. Over local traditions, dialects, ambitions, 
ruled Roman order, the language of Rome, culture, Cristianity. 

-83- 



MISTORIGAL 

Vet the decline of Rome left Ganl weaker than she had been before 
Caesar ; she had become an irresponsible minor, had no proper 
patriotism, no national army, no deep-rooted unity. Gaul had 
been kept weak by foreign rule. So, in 357, the Emperor Julian 




Showing : i. the main Roman roads, radiating from Lyons; 2. the area covered 
by Gallo-Roman civilization; 3. sites of important Roman remains; 4. sites of 
French forests to-day. This map, and that on page 12, combine to show that neither 
race, nor culture, were primarily Germanic in Alsace. 

beat back the Franks and Alamans from Belgium, and defeated 
seven Alaman kings under Strasbourg, but, not daring to rely on 
Roman arms, and still less on Gaulish, allowed, in 359, a Franki-sh 
tribe to settle in Belgium, there to act as guardians over Gaul. 



HISTORICAL 

This period lasted 500 years, the last 100 being transitional 
(B. C. 50 — A. D. 486.) 

III. — Frankish Gaul. — But even the Franks were unable to 
stem the tide of the Barbarians from beyond the Rhine, and could 




«««.f+ French Frontier 
in iSIt: 



The disastrous Verdun partition (843). 
Showing how ignorant Frankish rulers divided the Empire of Charlemagne 
irrespective of natural and ethnical frontiers, one part of France (Alsace) joining 
the Kingdom of Germany, and another (Lorraine, Lyons, Provence, etc ) being 
thrown m with Holland and Italy ! Then it was that Alsace became Germanized. 
As to Lorraine, its culture remained French, but it was part of France again 
politically, only 900 years later. ' 

not do better for themselves and their ward than to annex what 
they might of the country that was to bear their name. Conquest 
was fairly easy to them, but they were never able to achieve 
French unity. Two dynasties, more Frankish than French, 
whose thoughts always turned towards the Rhine and Saxony, 
rather than the Pyrenees, and whose laws on inheritance led to 

-85^ 



HISTORICAL 

renewed partitions of the realm, left FrankishGaul as far as Origi- 
nal Gaul from even the artificial unity of Roman Gaul. The 
Roman example was ever before the eyes of such men as Dagobert 
and Charlemagne ; but their efforts toward the Roman ideal were 
thwarted by their adherence to Germanic feudalism. The uni- 
fication of France could not begin before a really French dynasty, 
originating in Paris, confined its ambitions to slow extension 
within French-speaking areas. 




Possessions of the House of Austria under Charles V. 
During the XVIth, XVIIth, and XVIIIth centuries, Austria was the leading 
Germanic power. We fouglit her until the rise of Prussia ; then Austria allied 
sometimes with Prussia, sometimes with us, as jealousy and circumstances dictated. 
Several of our Kings, and Napoleon, married Austrian Princesses; our policy was 
to keep Austria and Prussia divided. But Bismarck, after crushing Austria in 1866, 
was most generous to her, and since then we have lost hold of our slippery ally. 
■ — This map shows how it was that we fought the Hapsburgs in Italy, in the 
North, South, and East of France, through the XVIth century, and were stiU 
fighting them when we drove the Spaniards out of Flanders in 1648. Flanders 
were still under Hapsburg rule at the time. 

— 86 — 



HISTORICAL 

This period again lasted 500 years, the last 100 of which were 
transitional (486-987). 




Dominions of the French crown >. 
Possessions of French nobles. 
Frontiers of France in ISm--,-., 



Maps showing how, after the partition of Roman Gaul into petty feudal states, a 
united France grew again, slowly and surely, under the wise guidance of the 
Capetians. The Revolution pursued their policy with even grea.er energy, and carried 
our frontier to the Rhine once more. Under Napoleon III, Savoy and Nice 
(white spaces S-E of last map), were aimexed by referendum. 

-87- 



HISTORICAL 



IV. — Capetian France. — The Capetian dynasty slowly evolved 
absolute monarchy from feudalism. On this point does our his- 
tory contrast sharply with that of England. In both countries 
(in spite of some vigorous rulers like William the Conqueror or 
Philippe-Auguste) the king was at first but the lord paramount, 
first among his peers ; his authority was often more formal than 
real. But, in England, the nobles never substantially alienated 
their rights nor their duties ; they stepped in between the King 
and the people ; Magna Charta is the charter not only of the ' 
English democracy, but of the English aristocracy as well. The 
absolute rule imported from France by the Conqueror, and partly 
revived much later, again under French influence, by Charles I, 
could but yield to the federative instinct of England. 'On the con- 
trary, the K^ing and people of France lent each other mutual sup- 
port against the disorderly unscrupulous nobles. Although the 
people had rallied to the King before (1124 and 1 214), one may say 
that the turning point, the moment when the people finally 
looked up to the King, and away from the nobles, was the day 
when Joan of Arc, at Chinon, ignoring the gay courtiers, went 
straight to the " gentle Dauphin. " 

Under the next King, the democratic policy of our Royalty is 
plainly discernible : Louis XI made it a point to take advice 
from his barber, and invite himself to burghers' houses, the while 
hekept his own brother in duress, and hung up a Cardinal for 
fourteen years in a cage of iron. Henry IV was a man of the people 
in many respects. Not blood, but brains, ruled the land under 
Richelieu ; his King destroyed noble manors by fire and cannon. 
The noblemen tried in vain to shake the growing power of their 
Liege; expeditions to Italy, Spain, Germany, like the Crusades of 
old, exhausted their energies and allayed their ambitions. Hen- 
ry IV routed the Ligue, and Mazarin disarmed the Fronde. 
Louis XIV might safely treat his nobles like valets; he could say 
proudly and truly : " L'Etat, c'est moi! " (the State is myself). 
He was indeed absolute master of all the resources of the land. 
France reached for one brief moment the acme of unity, power, and 
prestige... 

Yet under Louis XIV himself began the decline of both unity 
and power. When one man is the whole State, what must become 
of the State when that man gets old, or dies ? The worst of abso- 
lute rulers is that they rule so little, really. The army and the 
police are at their command, but they follow the suggestions 
of their kinsmen, of their courtiers, and of their own follies. 
The French noblemen turned from partisans to flatterers, and 
instead of living on the people direct, lived at Versailles on the 
King's bounty; the people gained little by the change. The King, 
having no further need of the support of the people, wasted the 
country's substance in luxurious living and vainglorious wars. 
Discontent arose, slight at first, against the favourites, then the 
King himgelf, then all kings, and the very principle of absolute 



HISTORICAL 

monarchy ; expressing itself in whispers under Louis XIV, in 
books under Louis XV, in bloodshed under Louis XVI. The 
original home of Absolute Monarchy became a Republic. 

The Capetian period lasted 800 years, a transitional period 
of 100 years beginning about 1774 came to a close in 1870. Those 
800 years (987-1789) fall into six great divisions: i. slow extension 
of the King's possessions, by Capetian methods; 2. 100 Years' 
War; 3. resumption of Capetian policy; 4. wars in Italy; 5. wars 
of Religion ; 6. triumph of Absolute Monarchy. 

V. — Republican France visibly began on July 14, 1789, when 
the " good people of Paris " took the Bastille Saint- Antoine, a 
stronghold in which the King could emprison any of his subjects 
" during the pleasure of His Majesty. 

Joan of Arc at Chinon marks the enfranchisement of the people 
from feudal rule ; the taking of the Bastille marks the enfranchise- 
ment of the people from monarchy. 

But this new stage could be at first but a violent crisis, which 
is only just over to-day. After centuries of stern discipline, a na- 
tion does not become free by one stroke of the pen, or one stroke of 
the guillotine. Therefore this latest period was feverish, and so- 
mewhat confusing; Kings alternated with Emperors and Republics, 
as if France did not know her own mind... Yet there is no doubt 
about the general trend of events. It is more than probable that 
the Republic has come to stay, at this third attempt which began 
in 1870, though it should not be forgotten that what the Revolu- 
tion had planned, and nearly accomplished, was the effort of the 
elite ; the vast majority of the nation merely desired the removal 
of certain abuses ; what happened then had its counterpart in the 
short-lived theocracy of Cromwell. Even now, true Republican 
principles have sunk less deep than one might suppose. The 
peasant, who is France essential, is a Republican so far as he might 
lose his hold on the land if King and nobles came back to power ; 
but he has remained quite individualistic, and does not appreciate 
association ; his working-theory is not that citizens are freemen, 
who should understand and help each other, and that general 
progress depends on private initiative. On the contrary, he has 
retained the haunting conception of an all-powerful " Govern- 
ment ", which may be strong and wise as God, or strong and harm- 
ful as the Archfiend, like that of the Kings of old, with this 
great difference that, now there is a Republic, he can, by his vote, 
" blackmail " that tremendous force to some extent : a non- 
democratic view of democracy which is slowly but surely vanishing. 

Parties : our Socialists are sometimes no^y, often eloquent ; 
but they wield far less power than is generally believed, as our 
population is so largely agricultural. At the other extreme (we 
say : the Right : " la droite " ) we still have Royalists, many of them 
active young men, who believe that France must preserve hex 
unity on the old lines at all cost, and get rid of " la,wyers, " 



HISTORICAL 

The intermediate political region is extensive, and divided intc 
many schools. The most important, which has ruled France for a 
number of years because it represents, in the main, the favourite 
views of the country at present, is the " Radical-Socialist " party ; 
its name might mislead one ; it means that some members of the 
old " Radical Republican " party, seeing that their colleagues 
were becoming as conservative as the " Republicains ' , took a 
leaf from the Socialist book. 

It is hoped that these preparatory remarks (see also : Situa- 
tion) will help the reader to connect the data of the following. 

CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY. 

I. — Pre-Roman Gaul. 

B. C. 1600 (?). — Celts conquer S. France and Spain, held by Iberians. 

600. Gauls conquer N. Italy. Greeks settle in S. Gaul. 

390. Gauls sack and ransom Rome. 

280 to 189. Celtic tribes take Macedonia, Thrace, Thessaly, enter Delphi, Asia 

Minor; settle in Galatia, which remains independent until B. C. 25; 

Saint Jerome, four centuries later, recognizes in Asia Minor the language 

he had heard about the Moselle and Rhine. (See Alsace-Lorraine.) 
283 to 192. Second attack on Rome, with Hannibal; war of Hannibal against 

S. France. Defeated Gauls settle about Danube, Bohemia, and Bavaria. 
154-118. Rome annexes Mediterranean coast from Alps to Pyrenees as a passage to 

her new province of Spain, 
no- 102. A deluge of Teutons and Kymri, rushing down from the Baltic to Spain, 

are crushed near Marseilles by Marius, a Roman general. 
58-50. Suevi and Helvetii enter Gaul; help of Rome asked for; in 7 campaigns 

and 9 years /. Caesar drives back the Barbarians, and conquers Gaul for 

Rome, in spite of Vercingetorix . (See: Soldiers) 

II. — Roman Gaul (B. G. 50 — A. D. 486.) 

A. D. 41. Lyons founded, and made capital of Gaul. 

160. Saint Irenaeus establishes Chnstianity \n Lyons; martyred 203. 

241. Romans beat back first Frankish invaders. 

313. Constantine's conversion makes Christianity official religion. 

359 . Julian establishes Frankish tribe in Belgium. 

407. Gaul laid waste by Vandals, etc. 

419. Visigoth Empire founded over Spain and S. Gaul; cap, Toulouse. 

438. Clodion, a Frankish chief, first of Merovingians, advances to the Somme. 

433. Hmws enter Gaul ; are routed at Chalons in 421, by Romans, Gauls, Visigoths, 

and Franks. 165.000 men killed in one day. Attila retires into Germany. 
486. Clovis defeats Syagrius, last representative of Roman power in Gaul. End of 

Roman occupation. The Frankish capital is Soissons. 

III. - Frankish Rulers (486-987.) 

a). — Merovingians. 

428. Clodion. — 429. Merovee. — 458. Childeric I. 

481.. Clovis defeats the Romans at Soissons (486), the Alamans at Tolbiac (496), 
and embraces Christianity ; the Burgundians at Dijon (500), the Visigoths 
at Vouille (507). All France is under one king. He had reigned 30 years, 
and died at 45. His four sons divide the realm... 

— 90 — 



HISTORICAL 

628. Dagobert extends his power over the Basques, the Bretons, and throughout Ger- 
many, to the Danube and the Bulgars. Builds the Abbey of Saint-Denis 
(638), in which himself and all French Kings are buried. Hisprimeminister 
is Saint Eloi, a goldsmith. Both names survive in a nursery-rhyme ; Saint 
Eloi is a great favourite in the N. of Fr. because he is the patron saint of 
all workers in metals. — 638, Two sons divide the realm... 

732 . Under the last of the « idle kings » , a Frankish duke, Charles the Hammerer, beats 
the Arabs at Poitiers (732); driven out of N. Fr., Arabs take Avignon 
(^37), and Charles crushes them out by destroying their strongholds: 
Nimes, Beziers, etc. 

b). — Carolingians. 

752 . Pepin, son of the Hammerer, assumes the crown ; fights the Frisians, the 
Saxons, the Lombards, gives a kingdom to the Pope, subdues S.-W. Fr. 
after 8 years' war. — 768. His two sons divide the land. 

771. Charles (later Charlemagne) survives, and, after defeating the Lombards in 
N. Italy, the Arabs in N. Spain, the Saxons, the Bavarians, and the last 
Huns about the Danube (33 years'fighting against Saxons), 

800 . Is crowned Emperor 0/ the West by the Pope, in Rome, on X'mas Eve 800. 
First Norman raids in France in 804. (Charlemagne dies 814.) 

843. By the treaty of Verdun, the Empire of Charlemagne is divided between his 
three grandsons : Lothair has Italy, Alsace, Holland, and the title of 
Emperor; Louis le Germanique, all Germany; Charles, a France bounded 
in the East by the Rhone, Saone, Argonne, and Scheldt. Norman raids 
more frequent; Paris ransomed, Rouen burnt. Charles, at Lothair's death, 
annexes Lotharingia (Lorraine) ; assumes imperial title ; and invades Italy. 
(See map page 85.) 

887. Eudes, Count of Paris, a great fighter of the Normans, is made King. From 
this date, the new dynasty alternates with the old. — Rollo is made 
Duke of Normandy. 

IV. — The Capetians (987-1789). 
a). — Rise of Royal Power. 

987. Hugues Capet. Merely a feudal lord among others ; defeats Charles of Lorraine, 
and the Count of Poitiers. 

996. Robert. Annexes Burgundy. Rising of Norman peasants ; first heretics burnt ; 
Normans established in Sicily and S. Italy (1016). 

1031. Henri I. Gives Burgundy to his brother; Burgundy lost for 300 years. 
Fights his vassals. 

1060. Philip I. Rise of chivalry; institution of free cities, and town-militias. 
French expansion : Raymond of Toulouse king of Spain ; Norman kingdom 
in Italy (1055) ; Normans in England (1066) ; first Anglo-French war (1087) ; 
Kng's nephew founds Portugal (Port of Gaul) (1095) ; first Crusade (1096) ; 
Jerusalem taken and Godefroy de Bouillon king of Jerusalem (1099). 

1 108 . Louis VI the Fat. Fights unruly vassals ; tries to weaken his vassal Henry I. 
of England, who routs him at Brenneville (1119), and induces Emperor 
of Germany to invade France. Louis calls on the town-militias ; the large 
army collected at Rheims frightens the Germans, who retire without fight- 
ing (1124). Wars in Flanders, Auvergne, and beyond the Loire. 

1137. Louis VII the Young. Leads the second Crusade, to Palestine (1147-49). Di- 
vorces inii52 Eleonoreof Aquitaine,who laavueS Henry Plantagenet. (That 
disastrous divorce will lead to 300 years'war, as Henry, already master of 
Anjou, Maine, Touraine, inherits Normandy and England from his mother 
in 1 154; receives Guyenne, Poitou, Saintonge and Angoumois from Eleo- 
nore, and personally conquers Brittany. . .). Besides, the dangerous Duchy of 
Austria rises in 1156. — A great minister : Sugar, 

— 91 — 



HISTORICAL 

il8o. Philip II (PhiUppe-Auguste) annexes Artois ; defeats league of nobles (1185); 
fights Henry I in France; Jeads the 3rd Crusade with Richard Li'on 
Heart. While Richard is prisoner in Austria, helps his brother John Lack- 
land against him. Richard, released, dies in France. John murders Arthur. 
Is sentenced to death by his French peers and his liege Philippe; Nor- 
mandy, Anjou, Maine, Touraine, Poitou, are confiscated to' the French 
Crown. John allies with German Emperor and Count of Flanders. Knights 
and militias beat German Emperor at Bouvines (near Lille), in 1214. — 
In 1208 and 1219, two Crusades against Albigenses (S. France) : — 
Languedoc conquered. — In 1204 and 12 17, two Crusades to the East : 
Constantinople taken, and Beaudoin Emperor; French nobles divide- Greek 
Empire. .Wise administration.. Paris fortified and paved; Louvre 'bniti.; 
Notre-Dame begun ; embryo University organized in Paris in 1200. 

1232. Louis VIII the Lion; Conquers Poitou, Aunis and Saintonge, from the 
English. Annexes Limousin, Perigord. Guyenne remains English. 

1226. Louis IX (Saint Louis), is then but a child; his mother, Blanche de Casfille, 
rules with much wisdom and energy ; defeats several vassals. — German 
Emperor leads 6th Crusade (1229); pagan Prussia first colonized by 
Knights of Teutonic Order (1230). 
King Louis defeats a vassal, helped by Engl, army, at Taillebourg (1242), 
leads 7th Crusade, to Egypt; is made prisoner ; peasants organize a crusade 
for his delivery; in 1259, for peace sake, Louis presents to England 
Limousin, Quercy, and Perigord ; in 1264, arbitrates at Amiens between 
Henry III and his barons. Leads 8th Crusade, to Tunis; dies there. — 
Parliament of Paris. (High Court) established ; building of Sainte Chapelle, 
Sorbonne, hospitals . . . Royal coin extended to whole Kingdom. 

1270. Philip III the Bold. Languedoc annexed : Valdenses of Languedoc persecuted. 
French massacred in Sicily (1282); expedition to Sicily, then to Aragon, 
Spain having helped Sicily. 

1285. Philip IV the Handsome. Master of Champagne and Navarre by. marriage; 
conquers Flanders and Guyenne ; loses them. Helps the Scotch against 
Edward \. Annexes Lyons: . 

1314. Louis X the Headstrong. Enfranchises his serfs. His daughter debarred from 
the throne by the so-called Salic Law. 

1316. Philip V the Tall. Brother of Louis X; wise administration. 

1322. Charles IV the Handsome. Another brother of Louis X., as Philippe had left 
no son. Charles leaves no son either. 

132S. Philip VI (de Valois), grandson of Philip. III. EdwardIV of England claims 
succession. Begins 100 Years' War. Crecy (1346) ; Calais lost (1347) ; the 
Black Death (1348). 

6). — 100 Years' War. 

1350. John II the Good. French and English fight in Brittany; then in Normandy; 
Black Prince lands at Bordeaux ; invades Centre ; is victorious at Poitiers 
(1356) ; Jean prisoner ; great rising of Fr. peasants against Engl, plunderers 
and idle French nobles ; John's ransom is 12 provinces and 3 cities (treaty 
of Bretigny, 1360). In 1362, English is substituted for French in English Courts. 

1364. Charles V the Wise Successful wars (Duguesclin) against Navarre, Brittany, 
Spain, allies of England; friendly prince made king of Spain ; Black Prince 
takes Limoges ; but is routed at Pontvalain (1371) ; Engl, driven from 
Poitouin 1373. Two more Engl. invasions (1373, 1376) defeated. Languedoc 
and Auvergne rise in 1378 ; rising quelled. — When Charles and Duguesclin 
die (1380), the only English possessions in France are Bordeaux, Bayonne, 
Calais. 

J380. Charles VI the Well-Beloved. Rise of Paris and several cities, mostly Flemish, 
a.sainst nobles. Flemish defeated (1382), and Parisian burghers hanged. 
Civil wars. Expedition \.o Naples (1-^?,^) ; Duke of Bourbon in Tunisia (i^qo), 

^ 92 — 



HISTORICAL 




Joan of Arc 

from a medaillon 

by E. Dropsy. 



King insane (1392). French Crusade in Hungary against Turks (1395). In 
1410 duke of Anjou takes Rome. In 1411 beginswar ot Armagnacs,\&(i.hy 
King's son, against Biirgundians under liis cou- 
sin. Engl, land in France (1415) : Azincourt; 
besiege Rouen (1418) while Burgundians enter 
Paris and massacre Armagnacs ; Engl, enter Paris 
(1420). — Charles dies 1422, and Henry VI 
of England is proclaimed king of France at Saint- 
Denis. 
1422. Charles VII reigns at first over five provinces only, in 
' Centre and S. France; Joan of Arc relieves Orleans 
(1429) ; dies 1431. In 1435, Charles disarms 
iSurgundian allies of England ; the latter leave 
Paris (1436). French nobles rise (la Piaguerie) 
(1440) ; are defeated. Dangerous bands of hired foreign 
soldiers are sent to fight in Switzerland and Lorraine ; 
a permanent national army created (1440) ; Rouen 
reconquered (1449) ; Engl, routed in Normandy 
(1450), in Guyenne (1453) ; keep Calais. End of 100 
Years' War. (French landing in England, 1457.) — 

Nobles, led by King's own son, rise in 1455 ; are severely punished, but 
King dies broken-hearted. 

c). — Capetian policy resumed. 

1461. Louis XI. A powerful coalition of nobles ("Ligue du Bien Public") defeated 
(1465). League of Burgundy, Guyenne, England : Duke of Guyenne, King's 
brother, probably poisoned. Burgundy invades the North. Engl, land at 
Calais, and are bought out. North relieved. Great nobles emprisoned, 
tortured, beheaded. Rise of .\ustria ; Fr. defeated by Austr. at Guinegate. 
Duke of Burgundy dies in Switzerland. "Louis mheriis ArtoisAnA Burgundy; 
the Low Countries go to Austria. (See page 86). 

d). — Expeditions to Italy. 

1483. Charles VIII. Leads expedition to Italy. Enters Milan, Florence, Rome, 
Naples ; Italian princes ally with Spain, Austria, England ; we leave Italy. 

1498. Louis XII. From 1500 to 1514, Italy is regained (Bayard), reconquered by 
Spain, partly regained, lost again. Engl, victorious at Guinegate (1514). 
Swiss reach Dijon ; Spaniards take Navarre. 

1515. Francis I. Crosses the Alps; victory of Marignan (1515) ; is knighted by 
Bayard on battlefield. In 1516, Charles V, Emperor of Austria, becomes King 
of Spain. Henry VIII allies with Charles (1520) against France. N. France 
saved by Bayard ; Marseilles relieved ; Austrians pursued into Italy ; 
Francis beaten and made prisoner in Italy, (Pavia 1525) : Italy, Flanders, 
Artois, Burgundy are lost, and King must marry sister of Charles. Engl, 
allies with us and Italy. F'rance recovers Burgundy ; Francis allies himself with 
Turks. Second and third campaigns in which we annex Savoy and Piemont, 
lose and regain Provence and Picardy ; Hungary invaded by Turks ; French 
and Turkish fleets bombard Nice. Engl, turns against us again ; Picardy 
and Champagne invaded, then saved. Imperials defeated in Italy, at 
Cerisoles. Henry takes Boulogne. — When Francis dies, we have lost 
Italy ; but Charles V has no hopes of ruling Europe. 

e). — 'Wars of Religion. 
1547. Henry II. Helps Protestant Germany against Charles, while persecuting 
French Protestants. Metz, Tout, Verdun, taken from Charles (1552) ; 
Lorraine and Luxemburg occupied. Charles abdicates (1556) ; Austrian 
Empire divided. Henri allies with the Pope against Philip of Spain. Guise 
invades Italy ; Philip enters Picardy. Paris saved by defence of Coligny in 

— 93 — 



HISTORICAL 

Saint-Quentin. Guise takes Calais (1558). We lose Savoy and Piemont.— * 
(First " Reformed church " in Paris established (1555). 

1559. Francis II. Marries Mary Stuart. Dies childless. 

1560, Charles /X brother of F. II. — Catherine de Medicis Regent. Civil wars begin, 

(1560-1594) ; Saint- Bartholomew (1572) 
1574. Henry III, brother of Ch. IX. — 8th civil war .The King, and the supporters 
of Guise, the Catholic candidate to the throne, defeated at Coutras (1587) 
by Henri de Navarre, the lawful heir, in spite of the defeat of the foreign 
troops that help the Huguenots. Guise, the King being weakened, becomes 
threatening ; Paris rises in his favour ; he is murdered the same year (1588). 
King Henry murdered (1589). 

1589 . Henry IV of Navarre, brother-in-law of Henri III, and direct descend- 
ent of Saint Louis, is of pure French blood, like Guise, but he is a Huguenot 
and Queen Elizabeth supports him. His opponents are the members of the 
"Ligue", who rely on Spain. After the death of Guise, the Ligue looks for 
another candidate, and quarrels with Spain over that choice ; Henri, seeing 
that the only obstacle between him and the people is his religion, abjures 
at Saint Denis (1593), and is crowned at Chartres (1594). Paris, then held by 
the Spanish, opens its gates at once ; Span, garrison leaves the same day. 

H. delivers Burgundy from the Spanish (1595). Spanish invade Picardy, 
take Amiens ; Picardy regained same year (1597). Brittany, last defender of 
the "Ligue", submits. Edict of Nantes gives legal status to Protestants 
(1598). A fanatic murders Henri (1610). H. had framed a Scheme for the 
permanent peace of Europe, through a European league, and arbitration. 

Champlain settles Canada in 1604; it had been discovered by Jacques 
Cartier in 1535. 

/). — From 1624 : triumph of absolute monarchy. 

1610. Louis XIII, (and ifjc/ietow, from 1624J. Risings of nobles and Protestpnts ; Spa- 
niards deteated in Tyrol ; noblemen beheaded ; political power of Protestants 
broken (1629), after siege of La Rochelle,and a campaign in the South. Expe- 
dition to Italy successful. Cardinal Richelieu interferes in 30 Years'War, 
allies with Protestants of Germany, Sweden, Holland, against Catholic Spain 
and Austria. Rhine, Italy, Pyrenees, threatened by Imperials. Spaniards 
take Corbie (1636) .. Victories on every hand; /4/sace conquered (1639) ; Arras 
retaken (1640) ; Roussillon regained (1642) ; Spaniards routed at Rocroi by 
young Conde, a few days after the King's death. 

1643. Louis XIV. Longest reign in European history; three periods : 

a) The King is a child ; Mazarin and the Queen Mother rule with very fair 
success; b) the young King, through efficient administration, successful 
wars, good finance and diplomacy, brings France to the height of power 
and prestige; he is seconded by able honest men, chief of whom is 
Colbert ; c) Louvois replaces Colbert : serious mistakes, and unfortunate 
wars, weaken the Kingdom. 

a) 1643-1661 : Turenne and Conde in Germany, Conde in Flanders, Spain. 
Artois, crush Austria and Spain. Treaty of Westphalia (164 8) among other 
clauses ratifies our annexation of Alsa'e, and makes the House of Bran- 
denburg (Prussia, Protestant), a menace to Austria (Catholic). 

b) 1661-1678: On the death of his Spanish father-in-law, Louis claims Spa- 
nish Flanders as his due; takes Lille (1667), and Franche-Comte (1668). 
Holland, England and Sweden league against France ; Holland invaded 
(1672); Holland flooded and saved. Spain and Germany help Holland. 
Franche-Comte retaken by Fr. in six weeks (1674). Impeiials invade 
Alsace, lose it, invade it again; finally ejected by Turenne (1675). Several 
victor its in Flanders and on Mediterranean, allow Louis to keep Flanders 
and Franche-Comte (1678); just when England had declared against us 
again, 

— 94 — 



Historical 

c) 1678-1715 : Strasbourg annexed (1681) ; Algiers and Genoa bombarded; 
Edict of Nantes cancelled (1685); James II, supported by Louis, defeated 
at the Boyne ; second expedition fails; French fleet is scattered at La 
Hougue (1692). Seve al victories in Netherlands and Italy are unavailing. 
Tr. of Ryswtck (1697) : we keep Strasbourg; lose Flemish and Italian 
conquests ; William III recognized by Louis. 

In 1700, a grandson of L. inherits Spanish crown ; L. breaks Treaty of 
Ryswick, and his promise not to regard that grandson as possible heir to 
French throne. Coalition of Holland, England, and Austria. Villars and 
Vendome victorious in Germany, Austria, and Italy (1701-1703) ; Villars 
recalled to fight the Camisards ; defeats of B/e»/i«i»i (1704), Turin (1706), 
Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), drive us out of Germany, Italy, 
Flanders. France invaded, Lille besieged; victory of Malplaquet (Nord, 
1709), a victory of French King of Spain over competitor supported by 
English army at Villaviciosa (1710), a last victory of Villars at Denain 
(1712) painfully restore the situation. England obtains Gibraltar; Prussia 
becomes a kingdom; we lose some colonies. 
1715. Louis XV, great-grandson of Louis XIV; King at 5 years of age. The 
" Regent ". Alliance with England, Holland, Germany, against Spanish 
King, who claims French throne. Financial catastrophe due to Law's 
" system. " The " Compagnie des Indes " exploits our possessions in India 
and America. After fighting against Russia, Austria, England, etc., in 
Italy, Bohemia, Alsace, Lorraine, Poland, Low Countries, India, Medi- 
terranean, Prussia, Brittany, Canada, etc... France loses Canada, India, 
Louisiana; gains Lorraine and Corsica. 

Fontenoy : 1745 ; Rosbach : 1757; Dupleix and Clive; Montcalm and Wolfe. 
1774. Louis XVL \iA^s American Colonies against England (1778-1783) Financial 
difficulties force him to assemble the " £teis Gfi'»«>aM;t; " never assembled 
since 161 4! 

The Eta ts meet on May 5 1789, in the Palace of Versailles ; our continuous 
Parliamentary life dates from that day. Between 1302 and 16 14, the 
Etats had been called together only 15 times. Had they been consulted 
more frequently, there would have been no occasion for... 
1789-1795. V. The Revolution. The Etats included representatives of 3 
"orders": nobility, clergy, " third order". After a discussion as to how the 
votes should betaken, whether by 'orders' or individually, the two privileged 
classes naturally insisting on voting by orders, the Third Estate decided to 
do without them entirely, and on June 17, took the name of " Assemblee 
Nationale Constituante ", {i. e. " Constituting " : Constitution-making). 
The majority of the clergy soon came over to them. The Court was 
shocked, and closed the rooms reserved for the meetings within the 
Palace. 

The new Assembly adjourned to a private building (salle du Jeu de Paume) 
on June 20, and swore never to separate before they had given France a 
Constitution. Bailly, astronomer, member of two Academies, was made 
president. Thereupon the King's brother hired the building as though for 
private reasons. The clergy at once opened the Cathedral of Versailles 
to the Assembly. On the 23rd, they were admitted into the Palace as 
before, but Louis warned the Third Estate ^nd cancelled their decisions. 
They refused to take any notice of his veto, and Louis at last yielded 
to the inevitable, even recommending the nobles and the clergy to 
join the third order on equal terms. 

He might have been sincere, but his Court would not tolerate a popular 
government, and while the Assembly discussed the Nation's interests, 
regiments after reg ments, most of them German hired troops, were 
marched toward Paris. Necker, a wise moderate minister, was dismissed. 
The people of Paris, on hearing of his dismissal, at once suspected foul 

— 95 — 



HISTORICAL 

play, and gathered in the Palais-Royal around Camille Desmoulins. Aftet 
a few encounters with the soldiers, the people looted the arsenal of the 
Invalides, and at last, on July 14, marched on the Bastille. The place 
was poorly garrisoned, and surrendered very soon. The affair was a 
trifle, materially ; but the nobles read the sign, and " emigration " 
began ; some went abroad merely to await developments in safety, others 
with a view to finding military support against the rising nation, as the 
French-born troops had sided with the people. 
.... " This is a rebellion, then? " said Louis. — " No, Sire ", said a cour- 
tier, " this is a revolution. . " The King came to the assembly unescorted, 
and promised to send away the German troops, and recall Necker. 
" You were afraid of me", he said to the Deputies; "well, see, I trust 
you". They rallied to him at once; and proceeded with him to Paris, 
where he recognized Bailly as Maire, and La Fayette as chief of the new 
" National Guard. " 

A few days later, on August 4, feudalism was declared extinct, the titled 
and the ecclesiastical members voluntarily surrendering their privileges. 

However, the internal situation which had caused Louis to call the " Etats " 
was not mending itself, and popular disorders due to scarcity of food 
began to agitate Paris. The Constituante went on with its work, and 
gradually became more stringent in its claims. On July 1790, the King 
promised to remain " a true Constitutional monarch "; the crowd cheered 
him ; joy was generaL Harmony seemed to have been reached at last ; 
privileges were gone; the King was liberal, and the people loyal... In 
April 1 79 1, Mirabeau died. Whether the King really trusted the people, 
or hoped that the great leader would be able to check democracy, 
remains doubtful ; the fact is that, on June 20, he ran away with the 
Queen and the Dauphin, so as to regain his independence from people 
and Constitution. He was caught at Varennes and had to return to 
what he now regarded as his prison, the Palace of the Tuileries. On 
Sept. 30, the Constitution was framed, and passed, and the Kmg pro- 
mised to keep it. 

According to that Constitution, the King was to rule, subject to the control 
and guidance of an Assembly ; his veto could not prevail for more than 
four years. Urged by motives of delicacy, or with a view to ousting the 
majority of the conservative members, the deputies who had framed the 
Constitution denied themselves the right to stand for election to the forth- 
coming permanent Parliament. The men who came into power with 
the " AsscmbUe Legislative " were decided democrats; they abolished 
the titles of " Sire " and " Majeste", passed hard laws against all " emigres " 
and non-juror priests. — There certainly was a danger of the Constitution 
being wrecked, as the King of Prussia and the Emperor of Germany, at Pilhiitz, 
had concluded an agreement stating that the situation of Louis interested 
all crowned heads (his situation was that of an English king, no worse). 
L. had to declare war on Austria, although the Emperor was his 
father-in-law. Was he quite in earnest? The Prussians were marching on 
Paris, threatening it with " total eversion ". " The Prussians ', said 
Vergniaud to the Parisians, " advance in the name of the King, to defend 
the King; they come to the relief of the King ". ... The people take the 
Tuileries, kill the Swiss guards, depose Louis ; and new elections are 
called for, toward the institution of a Republic... Verdun is already in 
Prussian hands; Champagne lies open before them... This is the time 
when Rouget composes the "Marseillaise ", when Danton cries out : " To 
rout the enemy, what do we want ? Daring, daring again, and ever more 
daring !" " Suspect "nobles and priests previously emprisoned are put to 
death in their cells from Sept. 2nd to 6th. On the 20th, the Prussians 
are beaten at Valmy, and again at Jemmapes on Oct. 7th. France and 

- 96 - 



HISTORICAL 

the Republic are saved, and the Low Countries are in our hands. 
The new Republic (Sept. 21) is provisionally governed by another Par- 
liament : the Convention. The extreme Montagnards (centralization) soon 
overrule the moderate Girondins (federalism); it is decided "to challenge 
all kings by throwing at them the head of a king". Louis is beheaded on 
Jan. 21, 1793. The Royalists of Vendee rise at once, while a new coali- 
tion, including England, threatens us. N. France is invaded again... 
The Convention levies fourteen armies; Robespierre organizes " la 
Terreur ; " Marie-Antoinette and 22 Girondins are beheaded; Royalists and 
suspects are massacred in Lyons and Nantes. Generals receive absolute 
. orders to be victorious by certain dates under pain of death. On Oct. 16 
1793, Austro-Prussians are beaten at Wattignies ; next day Vendeens are 
routed at ChoUet. Further victories regain Alsace, conquer Belgium, 
Aachen, Coblentz, Holland. A Batavian Republic, allied to ours, is created. 
Prussia and Spain sign peace (1795) ; France extends at last to the Rhine, 
for the first time since the Romans. 

MeanwhUe the Convention had reorganized the finances, created' 
primary instruction, opened High Schools, Museums, an Academy, etc., 
and completed the new Constitution. Dissolves on Oct. 26, 1793. 

1705. The " Directoire ". The new government instituted by the Con- 
vention rests in the main on two Chambers, and five " Directeurs". 
Austria and England being still in the field, the war goes on. The 
.^ustrians are beaten by Bonaparte in Italy, by Marceau in Germany, by 
Bonaparte again in Austria. Austria gives in (1797). To reach at 
England through the East, Bonaparte lands in Egypt (1798). Conquers 
Egypt, is checked by English in Syria. Meanwhile France is torn by p ili- 
tical intrigue, and Europe is frightened by our republican agitation in 
Rome, Naples, Switzerland... We lose our grip over Germany, and Italy. 
Massena holds Switzerland against the Russians and Austrians ; and Anglo- 
Russians are defeated in Holland ; yet the condition is critical. Bonaparte 
leaves Egypt, and assumes power as "First Consul", 3 Consuls being 
substituted to the 5 "Directeurs" . 

1799-1804 : " Consulat " ) 

1804-1815 : " Empire" \ ^'^^ P^^® '^^• 

(Briefly, the Empire was a compromise between liberty and power, 
between Louis XIV and the Revolution. Without a strong ruler, and an 
able military chief (Napoleon happened to be both), the young Republic 
could not repress disorder at home, and opposition abroad. Nspoleon 
was Emperor " of the French ", not : " of France ", i. e. military ruler by 
free consent of the people. Such was the fiction, at least, and it was very 
near actual truth. Napoleon was no democrat; but it would be hard to 
prove that as a military leader he should have been less ambitious 
(that he was not successful is more certain) ; his two main objects were : 
I. to win the long duel with England begun under Louis XIV; 2. to 
neutralize the Germanic nations. Both objects, though vast, were more 
than reasonable; they were almost unavoidable. 

1814. Restoration. Louis XVIII (a brother of L. XVI, the son of the 
latter, Louis XVII, having died in prison soon after his father). Grants 
a fairly liberal constitution ; but the sudden return and campaign of Napo- 
leon alarm the extreme Royalists, who adopUviolent measures. Napoleon 
gradually becomes a popular figure, and the old spirit of the " Jacobins " 
revives. An expedition to Spain (1823), in the interests of absolute 
monarchy, causes discontent. 
1824. Charles X (another brother of L.XVI) pursues a similar policy : he is more 
liberal than his courtiers, and is quite popular in the provinces, but unpopu- 
lar in Paris. At Navarin (1827), our white ensign sides with Greece against 
Turkey. Algiers taken (1830). But liberal opposition grows steadily ; the 

SAILLEN§ ■"" 97 ■"" 7 




CH SeNNZ.BS^UH, 



HISTORICAL 

King dismisses the Chamber ; a few days' rioting in Paris (July 1830) force 
him to abdicate. Thiers and La Fayette call in the Duke of Orleans, whose 
views are known to be liberal. (Ch. X dies at Goritzia.) 

1830. Louis-Philippe (a descendant of a brother of Louis XIV; had fought at 
Valmy and Jemmapes). Riots and disorder untU 1840 ; a great minister, 
Casimir Perier, dies too early (1832) : naval demonstration against Austria. 
Belgium made independent from Holland ; wetrke Antwerp (1832). Russia 
despises the new dynasty, and settles the fate of Egypt with Austria, Prussia, 
Engl, without consulting us : French opinion exasperated (1840). The k ng 
shows more personal and conservative, as the nation becomes more liberal. 
Paris wants universal suffrage. Revolution of Fsbr. 1S48 ; King abdicates; 
(dies in England). 

1848. Second Republic, Prince Louis Napoleon, a nephew of the great 
Emperor, is elected President, for 4 years, by 5,400,000 votes. Sends 
troops to Rome (1849), to restore temporal power of Pope, and allows 
religious schools to be re-opened ; this makes him popular with the clergy. 
On the other hand, he seems more liberal than the Assembly on some 
points. On the termination of his presidency, he is elected "Emperor of 
the French" by 7,800,000 votes. 

1852 Second Empire. Napoleon III. Economic development; railways; 
Paris embellished ; first World's Fair (1855). Franco-British expedition 
to the Crimea (1856) ; expedition to Italy against Austria (1859) ; N. signs 
peace before victory is complete : Italy disappointed ; yet we gain Savoy 
and Nice who accept their return to Fr. by referendum (i860). Expeditions 
to Syria, China, Cochin-China (i860). Free-trade established abruptly 
(i85o). Disastrous expedition to Mexico (1861-1867). In 1866, N is 
unable or unwilling to help Austria against Prussia. World's Fair (18S7). 
Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871). Emperor and 80.000 men made 
prisoners in Sedan (2 Sept. 1870) ; Metz surrendered by Bazaine (Oct. 70). 
Napoleon deposed by Paris on 3 Sept. 

1870. Third Republic begins on Sept. 4. The people of Paris insist on 

their deputies constituting a Provisional Government of National Defence; 
the provinces agree to this arrangement, no elections being possible at 
the time. Thiers andGambetta are the leaders, but many members expect a 
return to monarchy. 

1871 . The " Assemhlee Nationale " is at last elected, meets at Bordeaux, then at Ver- 

sailles. Ratifies terms accepted by Provisional Gov. (Treaty of Frankfurt, 
cession of Alsace, etc. ) ; and represses the "Commune" of Paris. Tniers 
is President and Premier. In 1872, Thiers, seeing that monarchy has 
become unpopular and impossible, asks the Assembly to institute a proper 
republic ; he is practically thrown out by monarchists and radicals. 

1873. Mac-Mahon (Marshal), a conservative, President. Present Constitution 
adopted in 1875. Mac-Mahon dissolves Chamber in 1877; but a republican 
majority is returned. World's Fair (1878). President resigns (1879). 

1879. Jules Grevy. Proper republican regime begins. Premiership of Jules Ferry. 
Measures taken against religious schools (1880), and primary instruction 
organized and enforced (1882). Tunisia annexed (1881). Disagreement 
with Engl, over Egypt (1883). Senegal-Niger railway (1884). Expedition to 
China (1885). Annam and Torag^irag annexed ; we settle in Madagascar again. 

1887. Sadi Carnot (a descendant of Lazare Carnot, tlie " organiser of victory" under 
the Convention). Boulangisme (1887-1889). Military service fixed at 
3 years (1889). World's Fair (1889). French fleet calls at Cronstadt (1891). 
Protective tariffs established (1892). Panama scandal (1893). Russian fleet 
calls at Toulon (1893). Timbuctoo occupied {1894). Carnot murdered by 
Italian anarchist (1894). 

1894. Casimir Perier. Resigns after 6 months, for private reasons. Mr. Hanotau:!; 
Foreign Secretary (1894-1898). 

— 100 — 



HOME 

t§95. Felix Faure. Expedition to China, and conquest of Madagascar (1895). 
France-Russian alliance declared (1897). Delcasse Foreign Secretary (1898. 
1905). Treaty of Paris ends Hispano-American war ; Dreyfus affair begins; 
Fachoda (1898). President dies suddenly {1899). 

1899. Eniile Loubet. Agitation by Deroulede, and conservatives ; Waldeck- 
Rousseau^ Premier ; end of Dreyfus affair (1899). World's Fair (1900). 
Law on Associations (1900). Ultimatum to Turkey about Morocco (1901). 
Religious congregations dispersed (1902). Anglo-French Arbitration Treaty 
(1903). Anglo-French agreement over Morocco, Egypt, Newfoundland, etc. ; 
cind our representative at the Vatican recalled (1904). Military service 
reduced to 2 years (1905). Kaiso: at Tangiers ; campaigns of German press ; 
separation of Church and State {1905). 

1906. Armand FallUras. We land at Casablanca (1907) ; antimilitarist propa- 
ganda : same year. Income tax passes the Chamber (1909). Railway strike 
(1910) ; Agadir (1911) ; part of Congo ceded to Germany : same year. 

1913. Raymond Poincare. Franco-German incidents of Luneville and Nancy; 
military service brought up to 3 years (1913). See : World-War and France, 
and : Appendix. 

Books lecommended. — Besides the works of Michelet, Guizot, Lavisse, 
Lavisse and Rambaud, A. Sorel, Hanotaux, etc., Aulard, Histoire politique de la 
Revolution franfaise (Colin). — Taine, Les origines de la France contemporaine 
(Hachette). — Albert Malet, Manuels d' Histoire de France (Hachette, 3 fr. 50 et 4 fr.). 
— Rambaud, Hiaioire de la Revolution Frangaise (Hachette, i fr. 75). — G. Hano- 
taux, La France en 1614 (Nelson). — Didier's pamphlets (o fr. 75) : Les grandes 
divisions de I'histoire de France ; La France a travers le XIX'^ siecle ; L'evolution de 
la France Republicaine. — Battifol, Le Siecle de la Renaissance. — J. Boulanger, Le 
Grand siecle. — C. Stryenski, Le XVIII^ siecle. — L. Madelin, La Revolution (all 
four publ. by Hachette, 5 fr. each). 

Marriott (J. H. R.), The Re-making of Modern Europe lySgto 1878 (Methuen, 
1909, 2 s. 6d.) (Contains a list of books for further study.) 

HOME. — It is quite true that no single French word has all the 
wealth of associations (somewhat indefinite, we think, in some 
cases) of the English word : " home ". But to infer from this 
that " the French have no home " is merely to play on a word. 

Firstly, we have precise terms for every shade of meaning 
contained in the word " home ", and for every phrase of which 
it is part. For " home trade " we say : " commerce interieur " ; 
for " home-trader " : " caboteur " ; for " home rule " : " auto- 
nomie " ; for " home delivery " : " livraison a domicile ", etc. 
There is just one case, perhaps, in which we might be at a loss; 
that is when an Indian, who intends to go to England, says : 
« I expect to go " home " next winter... » 

Secondly, for the two essential meanmgs of " home ", we have 
distinct equivalents, which English, despite its magnificent voca- 
bulary, fails to surpass and perhaps to equal in intensity. We 
say : " le foyer " and we say : " la patrie ". " Le foyer" is the 
hearth, the very heart and soul of the house ; they used to say in 
criden times, in their simple pious way : " this town has so many 
" dmes " (souls), or this village has so many " feux " (fires), so 
many " foyers " (hearths), according as they counted the indi- 
viduals, or the households. 



HOME 

" La patrie *', a brief, rousing word, means the land of out 
" fathers ". It is the ancient association of the hearths, and all 
that has been handed down to us by the hearths that preceded 
our own. 

" The word country fails as an equivalent because it is used in 
various non-emotional senses, whilst " patvie " never stands 
for anything but the land that we should be ready to die for, 
and it is never used without visible or suppressed emotion. " 
(Hammerton, French and English.) 

Lastly, we have a little word, " chez ", which our neighbours 
might well envy us. It comes from the Latin casa (the house), 
and we use it like a preposition; " chez moi " is: " at my 
place ' ; " le chez-soi " is the home, with a special connotation 
of privacy and comfort... 

" They are wrong, our friends the English, if they really believe 
that we have not the " foyer ", because we do not pronounce 
it " home ". That is no sufficient reason. We love it with a 
French pronunciation, that is all : but we worship it. The 
" foyer is pressed so close, so gathered together, so carefully 
concealed that those who deny it have one excuse for doing so, 
they have not seen it. It is quite true that a stranger can 
travel all over our country and know everything about us, 
except the inside of our hearts and the inside of our houses. On 
that point the jesters of Europe do not jest. We welcome the 
stranger, we are hospitable ; but it is our territory that we open, 
and our street, and our boulevard..., the " foyer " never, or hardly 
ever. The truth is that the "foyer " is our religion, just that. 
It is our pride and it remains our secret. The French pater- 
familias does not descant on his love for his "foyer"' ; he is shy 
about it ; because it is a deep love. The deep feelings are those 
that we live on, and which we hide... That our literature should 
have given to Europe a totally different idea of us, is explained 
by what I have just said. Feelings so deep never get into lite- 
rature. Real " /03/eys " are not for the printer. The literature of 
domestic confidences we regard as not quite delicate. 

(Emile Faguet, Annates 1892.) 

This is what an American has to say on the subject : 

" A rough summary of the ideas which some of us hold about 
France would run like this. — The life of pleasure is the rule 
of France. There "ain't no Ten Commandments", and the 
stranger in Paris is expected to paint the town red, just as he 
is expected to go to church in Edinburgh and see a bull-fight 
in Spain. "La Vie Parisienne " represents the reading of the 
race. France is a joy-ride for us Puritans.' 

" A poilu wrote a letter to a friend of mine the other day, 
and my friend brought the letter to me. The French soldier 
who wrote it is at the scene of the recent push on the 



MUGiJENOtS 

'' Chemin-des-D antes ". He belongs to a company of " Genie " 
(Engineers). 

" My Home... The war has come and prevented me from 
building it. But I have built it in my dreams. I wish for a small 
house on the slope of a hill near a river, a small white house 
under the trees. The wisterias will climb along the walls and the 
swallows will build their nest under the roof. There will be 
many beds where will grow rose-bushes and china-asters, 
primroses and daisies. I will have a kitchen garden with all 
kinds of vegetables and many fruit-trees. I will have, too, a 
poultry-yard ; I will have a lazy cat and an alert dog. 

" The interior of my house will not be very luxurious; the 
furniture will not be of any great price, for I am not a rich 
man. But I hope that it will shelter happiness, for when I return 
from my hard work I shall feel every day the faithful tenderness 
of my wife and the light smile of my little children. " 
(Arthur Gleason, Franco-American Weekly.) 

Books recommended. — Showing how a French home is run : Mme Moll- 
Weiss, Le Livre du Foyer (Colin). 

Pickard , trance in War Time zgi4-i5 (Methuen, 19 15). — Barrett Wendell (B.) 
France to-day (Constable, 1907). — Lynch (H.) French Life in Town and Coun- 
try (1901). — Edwards (M. B.) Twentieth Century France, Social, Intellectual and 
Territorial. — Dawbarn, France and the French (Methuen, 1911). — Sergeant (E.S.), 
French Perspectives (Constable, London, also Cambridge, Mass. igi6). 



HUGUENOTS. — French Protestants, who called themselves 
"Reformed", were nicknamed " Huguenots " about 1560, when 
the Prince of Conde (see Soldiers) became the leader of a party 
of discontented nobles and Protestants; many of the troops were 
hired Swiss; Helvetia being a Confederation, the men called them- 
selves Eidgenossen (Confederates) ; the strange word became 
Huguenot, and was applied to French Protestants in general. 

At one time, the Huguenots were numerous. Persecution brought 
on civil war, which led to further persecution. At last, Henri IV, 
a former Huguenot himself, granted them a charter in 1599 : 
the " Edit de Nantes " . Richelieu, however, had to fight them 
again as a party, and defeated them as such, while he treated 
them liberally as individuals and as believers. Louis XIV went 
further, and cancelled in 1685 the Edict of Henri. The "Revoca- 
tion de I'Editde Nantes " made it illegal for Protestants to belong 
to the professions, to assemble for worship, etc., and at the same 
time forbade them to leave the Kingdom under penalty of confis- 
cation. 500,000 of them chose exile and momentary ruin. They 
contributed largely to the development, economic and otherwise, 
of all Protestant nations (Prussia among others) ; many of course 
went to England ; others to the Low Countries ; or to the colonies 
of either. French " refugies " founded New Rochelle in America ; 
while Johannesburg was designed 35 years ago by a descendant 

— 103 — 



INDtJSTftffig 

from the French refugees to Cape colony. The Jouberts, Dela- 
reys, Bothas, Malans, are all of French descent. 

As a rule, the refugees were not illiterate peasants ; the poor 
labourers had not the means to travel far ; they had perforce to 
stay, and some of them became the " Camisards ". Most refu- 
gees, on the contrary, belonged to the best classes ; some of them 
Were practically masters of the supply of certain articles, so that 
their loss was felt severely by the nation soon after their depar- 
ture : in the first place, essential industries had disappeared or 
had been greatly weakened ; in the second place, rival countries 
had gained as much as we had lost. 

" Camisards " was the nickname given exclusively to the Pro- 
testant peasants of the Cevennes (South), who fought the troops 
of Louis XIV from 1703. Being few at first, and never very 
numerous, they often resorted to surprise attacks by night. Such 
attacks, in which the party surprised had to fight for their lives 
dressed just as they were, i. e. in their shirts, were common occu- 
rences at the time and had been called " camisades " , from the 
Southern word " camise " (a shirt). Hence the nickname given 
to those specialists. 

They were so successful that the mighty monarch had to send 
against them three field-marshals in succession, the last being the 
illustrious Villars, who was sadly wanted at Blenheim at the time, 
and whose dragoons, " missionaries in boots " as they called them- 
selves, treated the people cruelly. So skilful and obstinate were 
the peasants that even those " dragonnades " did not end the 
war. The old men and women might abjure, in the villages, but 
the men kept the field. At last Villars built a road across the 
mountains, and bought off the able young chief Jean Cavalier. 

Yet, Protestant villages survive to this day in the Cevennes. 

Books recommended. — F. Puaux, Les Defenseurs de la souverainete du peuple 
sous le regne de Louis XIV (Fischbacher, 1917). — Ch. Read, La Fayette, Washing- 
ton, et les Protestants de France (Fischbacher, 1893). 

Baird, History of the Rise of the Huguenots of France i vol. (New York, 1879). — 
Smiles, The Huguenots in France (1881). 

INDUSTRIES — Smelting works (1913 : cast-iron, 5,5 mill. t. ; 
steel, 4,5 mill, t.) are to be found in the North (Lille, Maubeuge, 
Denain, etc.) ; in the Centre (Creusot, Saint-Etienne, Saint- 
Chamond, Montlufon, Bourges, Vierzon, etc.) ; and the East 
(Lorraine, Champagne). The Creusot works alone (a colliery in 
the xvith century, foundry end of xviith, developed with Schnei- 
der, 1835) turns out yearly : 200,000 tons of iron and steel arti- 
cles, employs 20,000 workers, uses 600,000 tons of coal a y ear, 
turns out daily 360 tons of coke, and 200 tons of cast-iron. Cen- 
tral France turns out 700,000 tons of steel and cast-iron. Lyons 
handles 300,000 tons of pyrites. 

We produce 50 % of the total European output in alumi' 
nium, and export 50 % of our production. 

— 104 — 



Prance produces i % mill, tons of cement (Grenoble alon^ 
350,000 tons). 

Machines, implements, etc., are manufactured in all those 
centres, but their production does not cover all our requirements; 
we import agricultural machines, typewriters, etc., from U. S. A. 
and much of our machinery came from the States via Germany, 
owing to the particular advantages conferred on all exports from 
Germanyin 1871. One firm of Saint-Etienne, "Societe Franfaise", 
turned out 112,000 rifles in 1908. 

Textiles. — Flaxsmdhemp arespunandwoveninthe N.andN.-W. 
The linen of Cambrai, Amiens, Armentieres, Dunkirk ; the lawns 
and laces of Valenciennes, the net of Calais, also the linen of Anjou, 
Maine, and Brittany, are much in request, thanks to the industry 
of the masters and the skill of the workers, although their trade 
has suffered much from the growing success of cotton goods. 

Wool is worked : i. at Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing ; 2. in Nor- 
mandy (Rouen, Elbeuf, Louviers, Lisieux) ; 3. in Champagne 
(Rheims, Sedan) ; 4. in Languedoc (Aubenas, Mazamet, Castres) ; 
5. in Berry (Chateauroux). Grazing land and parish pastures 
diminishing steadily, most of our wool has to be imported (mostly 
from Australia). 

Cotton is made into linen, cloth, velvet, at Lille, Amiens, 
Saint-Quentin, Rouen and suburbs ; at Epinal and Belfort ; about 
Lyons (Roanne, Tarare), and in Dauphine (Vienne, Voiron). 
Most of those places used to weave flax. 

Silk weaving is limited to the S.-E. (Lyons, Saint-Etienne, 
Roanne), the only part of France where the mulberry-tree and 
the silk- worm do really well. We produce 600 mill. fr. of silks 
(Lyons: 500 ; Saint-Etienne: 100), of which we export 400. 

Food industries. — Flour-mills and manufactures of macaroni, 
vermicelli, etc., are found in the wheat districts, and great har- 
bours : Ile-de-France (Meaux, Corbeil), Toulouse, Marseilles, 
Nantes, Havre... The sugar industry, brought into existence by 
Napoleon when he boycotted among other things the British sugar 
of the West Indies, developed seriously after 1820, and has pro- 
gressed a great deal since then. ItisVonfined to the North, and 
its output is 75,000 tons a year(25o mill. fr.). Germany, Russia, 
Austria, do much better. See also: Agriculture, and: Drinks. 

Paper-mills exist in Corbeil, Epinal, Angouleme, Annonay, etc. 
Porcelain and Crockery come from Limoges, Nevers, Gien, Sisvres ; 
Glass and Cut glass from the North, the Vosges, and Central 
Range (colliery districts as a rule). Besan9on specializes in 
Watches and Clocks. Marseilles Soap (176,000 tons) is as well- 
known in France as the Gloves of Grenoble (12 mill. fr.). 
Limoges and Fougeres make Boots. Carpets are woven at Amiens, 
Beauvais, Aubusson (Centre) ; while Nantes, Brest, La Seyne, 
Rochefort, Le Havre, Saint-Nazaire, build Ships. 

— 105 — 



INFORMATION 

On the whole, industries of all kinds flourish mostly in thd 
mining districts : N., N.-E., and E. ; the W., S.-W. and S.-E. 
are almost entirely agricultural. However, the waterfalls of 
the Alps, and the local deposits of iron ore, are fast making Dau- 
phine (S.-E.) an important industrial centre. Total hydraulic 
power in Dauphine : 474.000 H.P. 

Employed in various industries 
(1909). 



Food producing . . . 464.000 

Spinning and weaving. 892.000 

Wood industries.. . . 710.000 

Metallurgy 783.000 

Building, decoration. . 572.000 

Kiln industries. . . . 161.000 

Books recommended. — E. Levasseur, Histoire des classes ouvrieres et de 
Vindustrie en France (Rousseau, 2 vol., 1904). — G. Villain Le fer, la houille et 
la mitallurgie (Colin, 3 fi. 50). — ■ Annnaire du Ministere du Commerce et de 
Vindustrie. — D'Avenel, Mecanisme de la vie moderne (Colin). — Yves Guyot, La 
Repartition des Industries aux Etats-Unis, en France et en Belgiq'ie (Berger-Levrault). 
— Studniczka, Industrial conditions in... England and France (Washington). 



Steam-power (excluding railway 




& marine engmes). 






Total - 




Engines. 


horse-power. 


1852. 


6.080 


76.000 


1861. 


15-805 


191 .000 


1871. 


26.146 


316.000 


1881. 


44.010 


576.000 


1891. 


58.967 


916.000 


1905. 


79.203 


2.232.263 



INFORMATION. — In town, ask a policeman of course. We call 
our policemen indifferently : " ser gents de ville ", " gardiens de la 
paix ", or " agents de police " . We usually address them as 
" Monsieur I'agent ". 

But there are many things that even an agent does not 
know. Enter practically any cafe, and ask for the "Bottin". This 
directory is in six volumes : " Paris-adr esses " , " Paris-profes- 
sions ", " Paris-mondain " (Parisian society), " Departements 
in two volumes, from A. to L., and M. to Z. ; Foreign and 
Colonial. 

" Paris-Hachette ", " Tout-Paris ", are useful guides as well. 

A common phrase, when asking one's way about, is : " Pardon 
M..., voudriez-vous m'indiquer le chemin pour aller a... 

In villages, ask the village policeman {"garde champetre"); but- 
you will have to find him first ; he may be ploughing his field, 
or gone to town for " Monsieur le Maire ". 

This mayor, or better still the " secretaire de mairie " (village 
clerk) who is almost invariably the school-master, can tell you 
almost anything about anybody in the place. Every "mairie" has 
a "plan cadastral" ; i. e. a survey-map, showing every house, 
garden, or field, in the village area. As a rule, such plans were 
drawn up many years ago, but they often are all the more use- 
ful, as accounting for certain names, showing former streams, etc. 

— 106 — 



Inform AT loisf 



- Some of the details sKov«7n on the French 
"General S-tauffJyiaps ..— » 



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107 



iKPORMATlOM 

In almost every village on the front, and in most borougliS 
in the rear, you will find "gendarmes" (men-at-arms) ; these belong 
to a military and national organization, and are all picked men 
from the army, very reliable as a rule. They should be consulted 
on any difficult point of regulations, military or civil procedure, 
etc. They are to be sent for in any case of misbehaviour 
crime, supposed spying, etc., involving French civilians or troops, 
if the matter is urgent. They will then report it to their chief, 
who is in touch with the A. P. M. 

In the field, you want a good map. The maps commonly 
called " cartes d'Etat-Major " (General Staff maps) are very 
accurate and detailed. They are stocked by Plon (8, rue Garan- 
ciere, Paris), and can be obtained in most bookshops. They 
are issued in three editions, on three scales. The most practical, 
fo reveryday purposes, is the So.oooth; every sheet costs i franc, 
and represents an area of 64 kilometers by 40. The only fault 
with it is that being printed in black only, and full of details 
at the same time, an unpractised eye easily misses much of the 
information. One should learn how to read it; the labour 
expended will be amply repaid, (" Lecture de la Carte", illustr. 
pamphlet. Berg. Levrault, o fr. 50.) 

The edition on a i : 50,000th scale is an enlargement of the 
preceding. Every sheet covers 32 kil. by 20 and costs 0.50. 
The I : 200.000th editio is printed in 5 colours, and omits 
many details; a sheet costs i fr. 50 and covers 128 kil. by 80. 

In these days of dug-outs and mines, geology is essential. We 
would recommend the excellent "Carte Geologique de la France", 
published by Beranger, 15, rue des Saints-P6res, Paris, in 4 edi- 
tions : 8o,oooth, 320,000th, 500,000th, and i,ooo,oooth. 

When not quite sure what sheet of a map you require, ask the 
publisher or bookseller to show you a " tableau d' assemblage ". 

The best guide-books on France, from the tourist's point of 
view, are those of Joanne (publ. by Hachette). 

Most instructive and interesting are the volumes of Ardouin- 
Dumazet, which combine the personal impressions of the author, 
(a man of wide interests, who has patiently tramped every mile 
of French soil) with most accurate, yet readable information, on 
the local geology, history, ethnology, agriculture, industries, etc. 

The publications of the various State-Departments (corres- 
ponding to the English Blue Books) can be obtained from 
Roustan, 5, quai Voltaire, Paris. 

Some books well worth reading, on France past and present, are : 
Young's travels in France (Bell and Sons, is.); Barret Wendell : 
France to-day; Jerrold : France to-day (J. Murray, 1916, 7/6). 



— 108 — 



INSTRUCTION 



INSTRUCTION. — Our Allies generally say : " education " •, 
we say " instruction ". Of course, we try to educate children, 
just as the British try to instruct them; yet the difference in ter- 
minology is interesting because it does correspond with a difference 
in points of view. We have come to believe that a teacher's 
duty is essentially to impart acknowledged facts and principles. 
He should shape and fill the mind ; as to the hearts, consciences, 
or souls, he should not depart in his action upon them from 
undeniable principles. No part of his teaching should be a 
matter of controversy ; his business being to provide his pupils 
with a maximum of certainties. 

Only the parents can assume, we believe, the responsibility of 
suggesting to their offspring particular views about this world and 
the next. A variety of schools corresponding to the various 
debatable views (or the various social classes), imply an expensive 
multiplicity of organizations, a system which debars the vast 
majority of the nation from culture, and from the spirit and 
methods of culture. 

That teaching of the universally admitted is what we call 
" Enseignement Laique " , i. e. neutral, or non-religious. 

Of course, some parents are afraid of the " neutral " spirit, and 
send their children to religious schools, but those schools are not 
State-aided; they are supported exclusively by those who believe 
in them. These non-State-aided schools are called " free " : 
" Enseignement Libre ". They are recognized by the State, and 
regularly inspected as regards hygiene. Their methods of teach- 
ing are practically the same as those of State-schools, and they 
cover exactly the same ground, comprise the same categories, 
lead to the same examinations. No teacher of those schools 
belongs to any committee of examiners : the standard of teaching 
is set by the State. 

The whole organization of State-aided teaching, from the small- 
est infant-class to the " College de France " , is the " Unvversite 
de France " , first planned out by the " Convention ", and com- 
pleted by Napoleon. It is all in the hands of the " Ministre de 
I'Instruction publique ", who appoints every member, chooses 
the subjects for examinations, etc. 

It is divided into i6 local Universities, or Academies, each under 
a " Recteur ", assisted by " Inspecteurs d' Academic " (i per 
" departement "). All Schools and Universities are under the 
control of " Inspecteurs Generaux ", who reside in Paris, and 
report direct to the " Ministre ". 

There are two categories of schools : one for the people ; another 
for the middle-classes. In each category, the pupils range from 
about 6 years of age to about 20. 

Popular. — Primary instruction is given in every town and 
village at the " Ecole Communale ". This leads to the " Certi- 

— 109 — 



INSTRUCTION 

ficat d'Etudes Primaires ", generally obtained between 12 and 14. 
The " Ecoles Primaires Superieures " lead to the " Brevet 
Simple " and the " Brevet Superieur " . The " Ecoles Profes- 
sionnelles " teach Arts and Crafts. No Latin or Greek is taught 
in any of those establishments, and they are all gratuitous. 
Attendance at the " Ecole Primaire " is compulsory until the 
Certificat has been received, or the age of 14 attained. 

Middle class. — " Lycees " in larger towns, and the less 
■ complete " Colleges " in other localities, provide for the upper 
and lower middle classes. 

In a complete establishment, such as a " lycee " , primary 
instruction will be given in the junior department, from " Enfan- 
tine " up to the 6th (we begin with the loth, and finish in the 
first) ; the parents then decide whether the boy is to take the 
classical or the modern side ; two years later another cross-roads 
leads the pupil to one of the 4 " baccalaureats " , called A. B. C. 
and D. — A. implies Latin, Greek, and one living language ; B : 
Latin, no Greek, two modern tongues; C.: Latin, Sciences, one 
modern tongue; D.: Sciences, and two modern tongues. 

Those examinations are held at the seat of the local Univer- 
sity, at the Faculty of Letters or at the Faculty of Sciences, the 
examiners being professors of those Faculties, assisted by masters 
of " Lycees ". 

. The full-fledged " hachelier " may then register his name, at 
any of the Universities, and read for one of the " licences " , or 
enter by competitive examination one of the Higher Schools 
'' Ecole .Normale Superieur e ", " Ecole Polytechnique ", " Ecole 
des Mines", etc.)... 

Lycees, Colleges, Universities, are not gratuitous ; but the fees 
are small (about 30 s. a month in lycees, for day-boys ; 40 s. a year 
in the Universities) ; besides, scholarships are awarded through 
competitive examination. 

) The great majority of pupils are day-pupils ( "exiernes"), a good 
many are half-boarders ( " demi-pensionnaires"), i.e. they do all 
their preparatory work at school under the supervision of masters. 
All State-schools are in towns, with two or three not very success- 
ful exceptions. That is one strong reason for leaving education 
mostly to the parents : the child lives with them. As to the stu- 
dent, he, is his own master, lives as he likes and where he likes ; all 
Universities are in towns. We used to have Colleges of the 
Oxford type (See : Quartier latin), but even those hostels were 
in towns, and our Universities are now exclusively lecture-halls, 
libraries, and examination rooms. 

School-hours in France are generally 8 to 11.30, and 2 to 4 ; 
Sundays and Thursdays are full holidays, but there is no half- 
holiday on Saturdays. Schools are closed for one week at New 
Year's time, a fortnight at Easter, and during August and Sep 
tember. 

— no — 



JOAN OF ARC 

In all State-schools, all masters are State-servants, and must be 
French. They cannot be dismissed without very serious cause, 
and are entitled to a pension. 

Books recommended: — Barrett Wendell, France to-day. — Oct. Greard, 
Enseignement primaire, secondaire, superieur. — Alexandre Ribot, La refonne dt 
I'enseignement secondaire (Colin, 3 fr. 50). — L. Liard, L' enseignement superieur en 
France (Paris. 1888-94.. 2 vol.). — P. Crouzet, Maitres et parents (Colin, 4 fr.). — 
R. Thamin, L'Universite et la Guerre (Hachette, 2 fr.). 

Hodgson (G.), Studies in French Education from Rabelais to Rousseau (Cambridge, 
University Press, 1908). — Farrington (F. 'E.), French Secondary Schools {'Longm^i-as, 
1910). — French University Degrees (Toe Comite de Patronage des Etudiants 
Etrangers, igi6). 



JOAN OF ARC. — " Jeanne d'Arc " was the daughter of a well- 
to-do farmer. She was born in January 1412, in the village of 
Domremy, between Champagne and Lorraine, in the North East 
of France. 

■ A simple girl, good at sewing, good at 
catechism, she was under two great in- 
fluences: religion and patriotism. When 
quite a child she often sat, tending 
her sheep, under a large beech-tree, 
called the Fairy-beech ; there the lonely 
lassie pondered no douljt over the gentle 
teachings of the priest, and the sinister 
doings of the soldiery. 

She was fourteen when, on a sum- 
mer's day, and a Fast, about noon, 
being in her father's close, by the church, 
she saw a great light ; and out of the 
light came a voice that said : " Jeanne, 
be a good and wise girl ; go to church 
often. " 

On another occasion, she saw the ligjit 
again, with some beautiful beings stand- 
ing in it ; one of them was winged, 
and said : " Jeanne, go and deliver the 
King of France and restore his King- 
dom to him. " She trembled much and 
replied : " Sir, I am but a poor girl ; 
I could never lead men-at-arms. " The 
voice insisted : " Saint Catherine and 
Saint Margaret will assist you. " 

She saw the archangel and the two 
Saints, and heard " her voices ", as 
she said, several other times over a period of four years ; at 
last, she obeyed. 

Her father, on the first hint she gave of her intentions, threat- 




JoAN OF Arc 

from a statue by Princess 

Marie d'Orleans. 



JOAN OF ARC 

ened to drown her with his own hands, rather than let her consort 
with the soldiery. But she found a means to be sent to Vaucou- 
leurs, where lived an uncle of hers. This man believed in Jeanne, 
and sent a message to the local military authority. This was a 
Captain who answered the messenger that the girl should be slap- 

Eed in the face and sent home. Jeanne only said : " Before Mid- 
ent comes round, I must have gone and found the King, were I to 
walk away my legs to the knee-joints to get there. " The Captain 
consented to see her and promised his help ; the common people 
had in the meantime urged him into compliance. They found 
money among themselves to equip Jeanne, and buy her a horse, as 
the Captain would give her no more than a sword. She cropped 
her hair, put on military dress, and, with six men-at-arms, left 
Vaucouleurs in February 1429. 

On the 24th of the same month, she reached the Court, at Chi- 
non, in the centre of France. For two days, the courtiers made 
her wait. On being shown at last into the room where stood the 
young King amidst his noblemen and dressed like any of them, 
she at once walked straight to him, although she saw him for the 
first time, and said : " Gentle Dauphin (i), why not trust me ? 
I tell you God has pity on you, on your Kingdom and your 
people... 

After some weeks of trial, and hesitation on the part of an irre- 
ligious and unpatriotic court, the will of the people triumphed 
again and Jeanne was allowed to exert her influence over the 
troops who, at the time, were trying to relieve Orleans of its 
English besiegers. Those troops had neither military discipline, 
nor morality. They mostly consisted of hired scoundrels who 
cared for pillage much more than for honest fighting. 

Jeanne soon inspired them with her lofty ideal. They admired, 
understood, and were transformed into sober obedient soldiers. 
Orleans was soon relieved : May 8, 1429. 

Then came the great victory of Patay, over Talbot. Then 
several cities, Rheims among them, which had sided with the 
English or their Burgundian allies, opened their gates; and at last, 
the King could be persuaded to be crowned at Rheims. 

During the ceremony, Jeanne proudly stood near the altar, with 
her standard in her hand. Later, she was asked by her judges 
why she had thus asserted herself : " My standard, she said, had 
known sorrow and labour, it was only fair that it should know 
honour. 

Now the King was crowned, he was more than content ; no fur- 
ther help could Jeanne expect of him ; and among his idle cour- 
tiers envy was rank. Jeanne went on with her task : " To put 



(i) The heir to the French throne was called " Dauphin", the Province of Dauphine 
having been ceded to France on condition that the heir to the French Throne 
should be called so (1349) (Cf. Wales). Charles the Vllth at the time had lost his 
father, but was still " Dauphin " as he had not been crowned yet. 

— 112 — 



JOAN OF ARC 

the English out of France, " but her successes were less marked, 
and she felt the hand of treason working against her. 

The King returned to Chinon and his pleasures, while Jeanne 
proceeded to Paris, which was held by the Burgundians. Much 
time was lost, she received practically no help, was wounded, and 
the city could not be relieved. She then forced her way into 
Cbmpiegne, a little city near Paris, which the Burgundians were 



tJitiuse ^(^x 




PrQvnces "'••■, C -u » -* 

occ upied : ^y the English' ' " ' •-i.-^-' ^ ^ - ^ r -^ 
i%%jj Domh lions of the "King ofBourges '>\~ 
rrr-TTi ChaHes VII . 

LMj Provinces ceded to England in 1360 
(Treaify pFBretiqnyj, by John ihe Good. 



MEDITERRANEAN I 
French frontier to da y 



Showing the hopeless condition of France when Joan appeared {1429). Note 
that the King himself hardly realized the justice of his cause. Officially, the only 
true King was Henry VI of England, crowned at Saint-Denis Abbey in 1422. 



gAU-LENS 



- 113 



JOAN OF ARC 

besieging. While at church there, on the morning before her 
last battle, she said to her lieutenants : " Good friends, dear chil« 
dren of mine, I tell you there is a mian who has sold me ; I am 
betrayed, and soon I shall be delivered unto death. Pray God 
for me, I request you, for I shall no longer be able to serve my 
King, nor the noble realm of France: " 

The same night, after a vigorous sally, Jeanne was covering the 
retreat of her men ; when she reached the drawbridge of the city, 
she found it closed against her. 

After several months' negotiations between the Count of 
Luxemburg, the Burgundians, and the English, and two attempts 
of Jeanne to escape, she was sold to the English for 10,000 francs. 
To fall into their hands was what she most dreaded, as she was 
unwilling to die. 

The English took her to Rouen. They regarded her as a witch ; 
Cauchon, a French priest who hoped to be made Bishop of Rouen 
by them, took up the case against her. She gave marvellously 
frank and yet guarded answers to the treacherous and learned 
questions of her judges. She wasaccused of breaking the laws of the 
Holy Church by : i. using magic arts ; 2. disobeying her parents' 
wishes ; 3. wearing masculine dress ; 4. asserting personal revela- 
tions not recognized and sanctioned by ecclesiastical authority. 
Nothing could be proved ; but, after a period of imprisonment, and 
further questioning under threat of torture, she had the weakness 
to " retract " (which implied admission), on being promised that 
she would be sentenced by the Church, and not by the English. 
She signed the document without reading it, and was granted 
pardon of her life, but sentenced to perpetual empxisonment, 
with no other food but " bread of sorrow and water of anguish. '' 

Unfortunately for Jeanne, the work she had begun was going 
on ; the English were being repulsed and routed everywhere : 
they put it down to the " accursed witch, " and insisted on her 
being put to death. — " Nothing easier, " said Cauchon. A very 
simple trick was used. First she was transferred to a military 
(i. e. English) prison. Then, while she slept the English sentry 
took away her dress, and put in her cell some male clothing 
instead. She protested, but it was no use; so she donned the 
forbidden clothes, without calculating the " judicial point ", and 
the deadly consequences : having sinned again, and in the same 
manner, she had become a " relapse ", a hopeless criminal, 
unworthy of life ! 

As the Church never sheds blood (horret a sanguine), this meant 
death by fire ! The sentence was carried out without delay, on 
the Old Market Place of Rouen, May 30, 1431. 

She was nineteen and six months. Not two years had passed 
since her taking Orleans. But modern France was made, through 
the mysterious mission and inexplicable influence of that daughter 
and elect of the people. 

- 114 - 



JOFFRE 

" Frenchmen, wrote our great historian Michelet, never forget 
that your country was born of a woman, of her blood and her 
tears. " 

Books recommended. — Michelet, Jeanne d'Arc. — G. Hanotaux, Jeanne 
d'Arc (Hachette, 7 fr. 50). — H. Peguy, Le Mvstere de Jeanne d'Arc (Nouvelle 
Revue franfaise). — Anatole France, Jeanne d'Arc. — General Canonge, Jeanne 
d'Arc guerndre (Nouvelle Librairie Nationale, maps and plans, 2 fr.). — R. Landry 
d'Arc, Jeanne d'Arc et la guerre de 1914 (Berger-Levrault, i fr.). — Hinzeiin, Chez 
Jeanne d'Arc, Guide sentimental... a Domremy, illustr. (Berger-Levrault, 6 fr.). 

Lang (A ), The Maid of Orleans. (rgoS). — Haggaid, The France of' Joan of Arc 
(Stanley Paul & Co, London, lyii). 




JOFFRE. — He was born at Rivesaltes, a village of " Pyrenees- 
Orientales", in 1852. His father, a cooper, sent him to the neigh- 
bourmg ■• Lycee " of Perpignan. He entered " Polytechnique " 
with very good but not exceptional marks, and left is as a lieute- 
nant of Engmeers. As such, he went through the war of 1870. 
He was made a captain at 24, and remained in that rank 14 years. 
He gained experience, promotion, and reputa- 
tion, in our Colonies. His name reached the 
public for the iirst time when he occupied 
Timbuctoo, in 1894. In Madagascar, he built 
the harbour and the forts of Diego Suarez. On 
his return to France, he was singled out for the 
grand simplicity, the promptitude and clear- 
ness of his mind, and was appointed Chief of the 
General Staff, an appointment implying supreme 
command in war-time. 

A master of organization, he himself is per- 
fectly organized. He combines intuition and 
reflection to an exceptional degree, and keeps 
an even balance between attention to details 
and wide outlook. His appearance, manner, 
and conversation all give the impression of a 
strong quiet man, full of common sense and certain of his 
facts. He is not dogmatic, yet he never hesitates. 

A son of the people, he does not forget what is due to the men. 
They called him " grand-pere ", for his kindness to them was 
even greater and more outspoken than that of a father. His 
ways are extremely simple ; during this war, he would take his 
food with him on his motor-car, and consume it when convenient, 
on a farmer's table, or by the road-side. 

He was Chief Commander of the French Armies until December 
1916, when the dignity of Field-Marshal, in abeyance since 1871, 
was revived in his honour, and he was appointed High Technical 
Adviser to the-AUied Forces. In April 191 7, he was sent to Ame- 
rica, with Mr. Viviani and others, on a special mission. 

When the train that carried him across America went off the 
rails in Arkansas, several travellers jumped out at oncejoffre went 

- 115 - 



Field-Mahshal 

JOFFKE 

(ph. by Manuel). 



JOFFRE 

on with his dinner... In a similar way, when France and Europe 
seemed in mortal danger, one man kept composed and clear- 
headed, and quietly organized the " miracle" of the Marne. 

The whole truth about this war will never be known, at least 
not in our days (the history of 1870-1871 is still incomplete) but a 
sufficient epitome of what took place is already wide-spread and 
will never be materially altered. The portrait of Joffre is hung 
in every French farm to-day; to our people, he will always be 
" the man of the Marne. " 

An American paper has most truly said of him that he was 
" the greatest, and perhaps the only really grandiose figure of this 
war." 

THE WELCOME OF MARECHAL JOFFRE TO AMERICAN TROOPS 
IN FRANCE : 

" When after conscientiously weighing the acts of Germany, 
President "Wilson placed the sword of the United States in the 
service of Right, no one in France had any doubts but that you 
would accompHsh great things. America, true to her past and 
traditions, was sure to step into the conflict with all the fervour 
of her ideals and all the power of her material resources. 

"Since that decision was taken, you have fulfilled our hopes and 
discharged your duties with loyal zeal. The best proof of it 
stands now revealed before us. Here are American troops, 
under General Pershing, facing the enemy and ready to make 
him feel the power of their arms. Led by that eminent chief, 
your officers vie with one another in perfecting this army which 
will soon adorn her brows with the first laurels of glory. 

"On the other side of the Atlantic the emulation is the same. 
The news I receive from Washington shows me that in all parts of 
the States work is proceeding intensely and with a single mind 
and will. Your Secretary for War, Mr. Baker, who so admirably 
controls the organization of the new army. General Bliss, who 
most competently commands every service in it, fight the good 
fight on lines parallel with your own. " 

' ' All our efforts complete one another. Our common enemy will 
soon see rising before him one of the most formidable engines of 
war that can be imagined. He had hurled defiance at you as he 
had done at the rest of the world, thinking in his mad pride that 
he was to rule the world. Your answer is to us the most eloquent, 
to Germany the most disappointing, of all possible retorts. 

*I sincerely congratulate you upon it; I feel assured that with 
such an army as yours working methodically hand in hand with 
the Allies, we shall succeed in averting from mankind the yoke 
which Germanic insolence intended to lay upon her. Let us all 
stand united: the reward will be victory. " — "Somewhere in 
France, " Oct. 15, 1917. 

Books recommended. — S. Blanchon, Le General Joffre (Bloud, o fr. 60) — 
Ji. Bizet, Le General Joffre (Berger-Levrault, o fr. 60). — J. Joffre, Operations de Id 

.- 116 — 



LA PAYETTE 

Cotonne joffre avani et apris I'occupaiion de Tombouctou, illust., 1895 (Bergef' 
Levrault, 2 fr.). 

Dawbarn (C), Joffi'e and his Army. 




La Fayette. 



LA FAYETTE (Marie-Joseph Motier, marquis de), was born in 
the heart of France, Auvergne, in 1757. A generous disposition, 
and the teachings of the philosophers of his time, filled him 
with a passion for freedom, which in his case, he said, had all 
the enthusiasm of religion, the irresistibleness of love, and the 
conviction of geometry. Not that he contemplated a revolution, 
or a republic ; but he was a sincere friend of 
the people, and his conception of the new 
France was a constitutional monarchy, having 
the full support of a generous intelligent nobility. 

He was garrisoned in Metz, in 1776, when he 
heard of the American rebellion ; iBenjamin 
Franklin, in Paris, was pleading for the colo- 
nists. " My heart enlisted at once, " said 
La Fayette. — Against the wishes of his fa- 
mily, and the formal orders of the Court, he 
resigned his commission, equipped a ship at 
his own expense, filling it with arms and am- 
munition, and crossed to America, in company 
with a few noblemen, leaving his young wife 
in France. He met Washington near Philadelphia, and the 
brilliant generous boy was much liked at once by the great 
man, who always preserved for him a fatherly affection. La 
Fayette offered to serve as a private, but was courteously made 
Major-General. The needs of the Americans were many and 
urgent; La Fayette returned to France, and this time pleaded 
personally with the King and his ministers ; in 1778, Louis 
acknowledged the independence of the United States ; this 
meant war with England. 

A great naval engagement off Brittany (Ushant, July 1778) 
revealed the power restored to our navy by Choiseul during the 
latter part of the reign of Louis XV. Du Cou^dic, La Touche- 
Tr^ville, La Motte-Piquet, Suffren, D'Estaing, Guichet, 
and Grasse, were the eminent seamen who secured the success 
of our troops in America. La Fayette had left France, as soon 
as French co-operation had been assured ; a French army corps, 
under Rochambeau, landed in America at a moment when the 
English had nearly overcome Washington and La Fayette. The 
fight was less unequal from that moment, and the intervention of 
Admiral de Grasse carried the day. Washington, La Fayette and 
Rochambeau were besieging General Cornwallis in York Town; 
but the English force was able to hold against them as long as 
the English fleet kept in touch with it. The French fleet under de 
Grasse completed the blockade ; Cornwallis had to capitulate 
(Oct. 1781). 

— 117 — 



LA FAYETTE 

One year later, Grasse lost a battle to Rodney, off the French 
coast ; -after some more fighting, which led but to partial results 
on either' side, England gave in ; the treaty by which she recog- 
nized American Independence was signed at Versailles in 1783. 

After some travelling in Europe, La Fayette was elected by the 
nobility of Auvergne, to represent them at the " Etats " of 1789. 
He was soon found to be the ideal " agent de liaison " between 
King, nobles, and people. As Commander of the town-militia, and 
adviser to the King, he protected the Royal Family from rioters 
in 1789; as "Major-General " of the Realm, he readout the oath 
of fidelity to the Constitution which the King repeated after 
him, on the "Champ de Mars" in July 1790... Butwhen the King 
fled from Paris, in June 1791, La Fayette lost his credit with the 
people. He received the command of an army, France being in 
mortal danger, but soon returned to Paris, to dispel idle rumours 
which accused him of aiming at dictatorship, and to protest 
against the treatment offered to Louis in June 1792, when he 
had been forced by the people to don the " red bonnet ". The 
deputies gently reminded him that there was a war on, and he 
should not have left his command. He returned to the front, 
and as the King was deposed shortly after, tried to find support 
for him in the army ; his suggestions met no response ; he 
had lost touch with the nation. He then made what we cannot 
help considering as the mistake of his life ; he left his post, and 
France. The Austrians soon captured him, and rehabilitated 
him, by emprisoning him in Olmiitz for 5 years, thus showing 
that if the French people might find him too conservative, he 
was still too liberal for Europe. Napoleon obtained his release. 
La Fayette took to farming, and abstained from any political 
activity during the Emperor's reign; the two men had more 
respect than sympathy for each other. Napoleon called La 
Fayette "a simpleton ", adding that this appellation, from him, 
amounted to a certificate of honesty. 

La Fayette welcomed the return of the Bourbons, and at once 
re-entered political life, being elected by the Sarthe department in 
1 81 8. He led the liberals, enlisted among the carbonari, and 
was involved in the Belfort plot of 1822. Not returned in 1824, 
but re-elected in 1827, after a triumphant tour in the States, he 
pursued the contest against the extreme royalists, and took a 
prominent part in the Revolution of 1830. 

He died four years later, on his wife's estate, in Brie, where 
he had lived as a gentleman farmer, very proud of his sheep and 
his crops. 

He it was who said, in 1790 : " the old order being but bondage, 
insurrection is the most holy of duties ; " to the militia of Paris, 
as he gave them their new cockade, he said : "Take it ; it will tra- 
vel round the world. " 

Books recommended. — Et. Charavay. Le general La Fayette (Paris, 1895). — 
A. Bardoux, La jeunesse de La Fayette (Paris, 1892). —His Memoirs and Letters, 

— 118 — 



Language 

published by his family (6 vol., 1837-38). — Captain Blaesin, Le complot miiitaire 
de Belfort (1822) (Berger-Levrault, 2 fr.). 

Tickerman Bayard, Life of La Fayette (New York, 1889). — Charlemagne Tower, 
The Marquis de la Fayette in the American Revolution (Philadelphia, 1895). 

LANGUAGE, — French is, roughly speaking, Latin spoken by 
Celts. 

Just as some of us have learnt English from books while others 
are picking it up from British or American troops, so did the Gauls 
learn Latin partly from school-masters, partly from the Roman 
soldiers camping in Gaul. As a consequence, many of our words 
are puzzling to a classical student : we still speak a certain amount 
of Roman slang ! E. g. we say " tete " (head), from the slang 
word of the soldiers: testa (a phial, a pot), the proper word, 
caput, giving " capitale " , " capitaine ", " chef ", " chevet ", etc... 

The only Gauls who refused to learn Latin, even from their 
compatriots, were the obstinate Bretons, and the remote Basques. 
All the other provinces altered the common language each in its 
own way ; one of those dialects, spoken from Loire to Seine, 
became, from political circumstances, the language of the Court, 
and the one mostly used by writers ; we call it French to-day, 
while the other less fortunate tongues (except Proven9al), are the 
various " patois " of the provinces, unrepresented in modern 
literature. 

The dialects of the South are much nearer the original Latin, 
and at one time produced an abundant literature. They were 
called collectively, in spite of their variety, "langue d'oc ", i. e. lan- 
guage (or group of languages) in which the word for " yes " was 
"oc"(Lat. : hoc). In the middle of last century, a great poet 
of Provence, Mistral, urged by local patriotism, and a desire to 
combat what he regarded as the excessive predominance of Paris 
and the North, wrote a large amount of splendid poetry in the 
dialect! of Provence, which he enriched and beautified into a 
literary language. The writers of the North had the deepest 
admiration and respect for his genius, and he was offered several 
times a seat at the " Academic. " He always refused to be thus 
" annexed " by the North. 

The dialects of the North are far from harmonious as a rule. 
Artois and Picardy speak an unpleasant jargon. But the peas- 
ants of Touraine have a neat clear expression, which is regarded 
as the original and the standard of French. Even educated Pari- 
sians, although, being Parisians, they cannot be said to be 
wrong, use a very unpleasant " R" , spoken in the throat, which 
was not regarded as correct only two hundred years ago, and is 
still avoided on the stage ; it is not used in Touraine. Those 
Northern dialects were all called in the Middle Ages "langue 
d'oil" ; the word for "yes" came from Lat. hoc illud (which 
pleonasm, of late and vulgar origin, was absent from Southern 
speech). 

— 119 — 



LANGUAGE 

This general Latin background, thus divided between North 
and South dialects, should be further divided, in both regions, 
into learned and popular varieties. The scholars, whether of the 
North or the South, periodically found some new words which they 
introduced almost bodily into their language {"incorporation" 
is an example in point), whereas the people who could not read, 
promptly adapted every word they heard, old or new, to their 
Celtic pronunciation. E. g. : from augustus the scholars derived 
" auguste " (an " august " personage) ; but the people, who spoke 
of the month of August, gradually wore down the name until it 
had lost every one of its consonants, and three vowels out of four. 
We still spell the word " aout " , but we pronounce it " ou " , in 
one sound. This " ou " is the second " u " of Augustus, which 
was accented; our unstressed vowels tend to disappear, especially 
when final. Hence this peculiarity of French : while Latin, 
Greek, English, German, etc., generally stress on the last syllable 
but one, French lays the stress on the last. 

A good many words came to us from other languages than 
Latin. Greek merchants travelled from Marseilles to Britain, 
through Burgundy and Picardy, long before Roman times ; then 
the Church used many Greek words. Latin and Greek being 
much alike, it is often impossible to be sure of the Greek origin of 
a French word. It is all the more interesting to find in the old 
"patois" of Picardy such words as " hode " (road-tired, very 
tired), which cannot come, it seems, from any other word but 
ados (Gr. road) ; or theion, theie (uncle, aunt), exactly similar to 
Greek words of the same meaning; " moquer " is almost 
certainly Greek; " cercueil" is sarcophagos. 

Celtic words have not all died out ; the place-names are very 
often Celtic ; e. g. " Verdun ", " Dunkerque ", " Chdteaudun ", 
contain the Celtic word for " hill ". 

" Barque " came from Egyptian, via Greek, Latin, and Italian. 
Arabic (" alcool " , ' almanack " , " alcali ") ; Spanish (" bizarre " , 
" camarade "); Italian (" buste ", " medaille ") ; Germanic dialects 
(" guerre " , " gaiifre " : " war ", " wafer ") and other languages, 
have all contributed their share, as in English. English has help- 
ed our sailors and sportsmen : " jockey ", " handicap ", 
"starter", have become French at a late period, and therefore 
have hardly changed ; " beaupre" is " bowsprit "; our fishermen 
call " bouete " the small fish used as " bait " for the cod. 

A curious example of the exchanges taking place between sailors 
is the following. We familiarly call our marines " marsouins " 
(porpoises); now "porpoise" is clearly the French "porc-poisson" 
(hog-fish) ; while " marsouin " is just as clearly English, being 
made up of Old Engl. " mere " (sea) and " swine ". 

To conclude this section, a " family of words ", all con net ed 
with " chambre " , will give an idea of the formation of our vocabu- 
lary. " Chambre " (room) comes from Latin camera (Gr. kamara) 
and its first meaning was "vault"; hence the verb" cambrer" 



LANGUAGE 

(and nouri : " cambrure ") meaning " to arch ". The diminutive 
is •• chambrette " ; Spanish gave us •'camarilla" ; '• chambrier 
was coined in France, but " camerier" and " camerlingue come 
from Italy ; " chambellan ", from Germany ; " chambncre , is 
French; Italy gave us " cameriste ". " Chambree ", and the 
Spanish " camarade " both meant a " room-full " ; " chambrer is 
to shut up in a room. " Antichambre " explains itself. Modern 
slang uses " cambrioler ", when referring to a variety of burglary, 
fust as our Celtic pronunciation has altered Latin and other 
words, our construction is Celtic. Not only do we invariably 
place the verb before its object (like the Enghsh, and unlike 
the Germans), but we also place the epithet after its noun (on 
that point, English has preserved its Germanic tradition). Our 
grammar is more strict, and less evolved than Enghsh grammar. 
It has changed but little since the xviith century, when our men 
of letters and statesmen (see : Literature) " organized our 

language. r ■,■ ■, -j, 

Under Louis XIV, French became the language of diplomacy ; it 
has this great advantage that, by its use, it is always possible 
to enact a new, or interpret an old treaty, with absolute accuracy, 
by referring to the " Dictionnaire de I'Acadeniie" for the period 
in which the treaty is, or was framed. . . . . 

A large proportion of English words being of Romanic origin, : 
it is fairly easy for an educated American or Britisher to make 
out the meaning of a French text, especially if the text is technical. 
For "house" we sa-y " maison" , but Engl, has "mansion , 
"manse"; we say "cheval" for "horse", but Engl, has 
"cavalry", "chivalrous "," cheval-glass ", "chevalier'... As 
to such words as "distinction", "culture", "collection , 
"troops", "artillery", "march", etc... they are common to 
both languages, or nearly so. r j. t 

A great source of trouble is gender. It may comfort some of 
our friends to know that very few Frenchmen are sure of the 
gender of every French word. . i, x ii. 

Another difficulty is the pronunciation. We claim that the 
fault lies here with the English-speaking learner, rather than 
with our language, as most foreigners find it fairly easy to acquire 
a decent French pronunciation, whereas there is but one opinion 
about the unique nature of Enghsh diction. It is almost impos- 
sible for an Enghshman or an American to pronounce ±<rench 
faultlessly, or even well enough to conceal his nationality. But 
there is no need that he should reach that point of perfection, 
and probably he does not wish to. In three months, any 
sensible person, with reasonable effort, can acquire enough 
French to make himself understood in ordinary circumstances. 
This ought to be quite encouraging enough ; the Scotch have 
an accent in Enghsh; Britishers or Americans may well have 
one in French. We sometimes think that our Allies would 
speak French more commonly if they were not so fond of perfection 



LIBRARIES 

(let us put it that way); thisy had rather not speak at all thati 
" make fools of themselves, " as they express it. But is silence 
always wisdom ?... 

The Scotch have less difficulty than the English in mastering our 
sounds ; their speech is naturally more crisp and definite, more like 
our own ; and they seem to have little trouble in acquiring the 
French guttural " R", or that crux of English speakers, the " U ". 

Books recommended. — Paul Hazard, Discours sur la Langue franfaise (Aca- 
demie 1912) (Hachette). — Cledat, Dictionnaire etymologique de la Langue frangaise 
(Hachette, 4 fr. 50). — Remy de Gourmont, EsthHique de la Langue franfaise 
(Mercure de France, 3 fr. 50). • — ■ Petit Dictionnaire (Larousse iilustr. 6 francs). — 
Martinon. Comment on prononce le franfais (Larousse. 4 francs). 

E. Saillens, First Principles of French Pronunciation (Blackie Son). — Cardon 
(Leopold), A Practical French Course (Silver Burdett & Co, Boston, 1917). 

LIBRARIES. — Owing to our centralized organization prac- 
tically all libraries in France belong to the State, the " deparie- 
ments ", or the "communes". In every village can be found a 
lending library, kept by the school-master. In cities, the muni- 
cipal libraries are less active than in England, and less attractive 
to the masses. They are seldom comfortable, and most of the 
books found in our public libraries offer opportunities for 
study rather than for recreation, or for rapid, up-to-date, 
practical information. 

The total stock of our public libraries in 1908, was 20,060, 
148 volumes. Out of those twenty million volumes, Paris alone 
possesses ten and a half, and the single " Bibliotheque Natio- 
nale" — the richest library in the world- — , over three millions. 
Besides those three million printed volumes, the " Bibliotheque 
Nationale " has half a million maps and plans in 28,000 vo- 
lumes; 4,960 Greek manuscripts, 21,545 Latin Mss., 45,000 French, 
I million prints and designs, and over 207,000 medals. 

Our first national library was instituted by Charlemagne, but 
few works now contained in the " Bibliotheque Nationale " are 
older than King John, the captive of the Black Prince. The 
library collected before this by Saint Louis was dispersed at his 
death, and no work has found its way back to our national insti- 
tution. 

The" Bibliotheque Nationale" is partly supplied by the "depot 
legal" , dating from King Henry II, in 1556. Under this provision 
all publishers must send to the Library two copies of every work 
they issue. 

Here are a few more of the Parisian libraries : "Arsenal" , 
600,000 volumes ; " Mazarine " : 250,000 vols. ; " Sainte- 
Genevieve " : 350,000 ; " Archives Nationales " : 30,000 ; War 
Office : 235,000; " Ville de Paris" : 400,000; Admiralty : 
100,000 ; Chamber of Deputies : 250,000 ; Senate : 150,000 ; 
22 Hospitals: 92,887; the University : over i million; 82 Municipal 
Libraries : 590,000 volumes. 



LltElRATURE 

LITERATURE. — The finest, most varied, and most abundant 
poetry in modern Europe, is English poetry; the French claim 
the same praises for their prose. 

We have had poets of course, but their inspiration, until recent 
times, complied with the main rules of our prose : clearness, 
brevity, common-sense; they appealed to reason, conscience, 
humour, but fought shy of imagination; "a fine frenzy " was 
little to their taste, and even less to that of their readers. 
None of them, before Victor Hugo, seemed to have taken any 
notice of the sea. Voltaire, who introduced Shakespeare to 
France, because "some pearls could be found on that rubbish- 
heap," called him " un sauvage ivre " ("a drunken savage"). 
There is not one pearl, not one line of poetry properly so called, 
in the volumes of epic, dramatic, or lyrical verse, due to 
Voltaire's pen; his clear, sharp, glittering prose explains why it 
should be so. 

We do not care, as a rule, to lose our heads, to let ourselves 
go, when writing. What we write is best, we think, if it reads 
like polite intelligent conversation. One should neither shout 
nor whisper at table; neither should a writer be violent or 
obscure; his emotions do not concern us; it is enough for us if 
he hints at them; but his arguments and conclusions can never 
be too explicit. In other words, we value intelligence more 
than sentiment, and general ideas more than personal feelings. 
There is an atmosphere of mystery, a method of suggesting, 
perfectly legitimate in any form of art, which has ever been 
somewhat displeasing to us, even in music or painting, save in 
recent times. Our tradition is one of reserve, finish, and 
definiteness; we say : "What is not clear, is not French." 
— Granted, but one might add : " What is quite clear, is seldom 
poetical. " 

The English, on the contrary, are essentially passionate, and 
even their prose is largely instinctive ; they are content if it gives 
an idea of what they mean. We often find some laxity in 
English prose; to an English mind French poetry often appears 
formal. 

Our literature is the only one that can compare for extension 
with the British. It falls, roughly, into six periods : the Middle 
Ages, that Renaissance, the XVIlth, the XVIIIth, the XlXth cen- 
turies, and present times. 

I. Middle Ages. — After a period of purely Latin produc- 
tion, the " troubadours " of the South, in the various dialects of 
the " langue d'oc" (see: Language), composed short graceful 
lyrics, named " sirventes " ," tensons " , " aubades ", " serenades ", 
"ballades ", "rondels ", etc. inspired for the most part by 
chivalrous, refined love. Meanwhile the Northern " trouveres " 
consigned to the "langue d'oil " weighty epics and lengthy 
chronicles. Through growing contact with the South, the North 

— 123 — 



literature: 

improved its culture; through the annexation of the South, it 
secured supremacy within France for its language and litera- 
ture; through the world-expansion of France in the xiiith 
century, and the absolute excellence of their production, our 
Northern writers exerted an influence as wide-spread and 
enduring as that of our Gothic artists. 

The Northern Epics belonged to 3 Cycles : — a) the Frankish 
Cycle of Charlemagne, a type of which is the famous "Chanson de 
Roland" (Anon, xith century); b) the Celtic Cycle of Arthur, 
which told of the Round Table, Tristram and Lancelot, and the 
Quest of the Holy Graal. The story of Tristram was sung in 
French by a Norman " trouvere " to the Norman King of England, 
in 1 170. The knight who travelled in quest of the Holy Graal 
was a French hero, Perceval, whom Wagner was to re-introduce 
to Europe as Parsifal; c) the third was the Classical Cycle of 
Troy Town; we have an epic of the Trojan War comprising oVer 
20,000 lines; this Cycle still inspired English poets and artists 
quite recently. 

Following upon those heroic songs, a popular poem appeared, 
the "Roman de Renart" (the Tale of Br'er Fox, one might call 
it, for it partly originated from folk-lore, and its hero is the fox); 
its name of "Roman " meant that it was not written in Latin, 
but in French (see: Architecture); this humorous epic of the 
animals, a plea for the people against Church and nobles, was to 
inspire Chaucer, and Goethe ; it spread shortly after its produc- 
tion to Flanders and Germany. 

Later still, N. France produced the " Romance of the Rose", 
the model of Chaucer and Spenser ; it was written in two sections 
by two men, and numbers 23,000 lines. — Short Lyrics were com- 
posed by RuTEBEUF, Deschamps, Alain Chartier, Basselin, 
Villon ; this last had more than talent, and has remained a 
classic. But their influence was surpassed in France by the 
Chroniclers Villehardouin (xiith century : Conquest of Cons- 
tantinople), JoiNViLLE (xiiith: Saint Louis), Froissart (xivth : 
100 Years' War), and Commynes (xvth: Louis XI, Charles VIII). 

II. Renaissance. — The New Learning, which we call the 
New Birth, induced a certain number of writers to make our 
language equal in wealth and dignity to the classical tongues. 
On the other hand, the invention of typography led other men 
to address the common people in the popular tongue. The seven 
poets of the " Pleiade", the guiding starof which was Ronsard 
(our greatest lyricist until the coming of Hugo), were enthu- 
siastic scholars, who ransacked Greek, Latin, and Italian, regu- 
lated our verse, gave us our first proper dramas, and our first 
classical poetry. 

The light songs, and the Psalms, of Marot, the powerful satires 
of d'Aubign^, belong to that period. As to the prose-writers, 
founders of modern French, and fathers of French thought; 

— 124 — 



LITERATURE 



gatherers of more words than the next age will use, and propound- 
ers of more problems than it will solve, they are Rabelais, 
Montaigne, and Calvin, three men whose names speak for 
themselves. To this period again belong the inimitable transla- 
tion of Plutarch's Lives by Amyot, and the learned patriotic 
studies in the French language of Henri Estienne, printer and 
scholar. 

The style of the age is still slightly Latin in its construction, 
and the subjects often smell of the school ; but at last real books 
are written in French. The general spirit is one of reaction 
against the immediate past, of universal curiosity, of questioning, 
a determination to make man happy in this world, through indi- 
vidual progress, beauty, and reason. 

III. The XVIIth Century, or Age of Louis XIV, made 
language purely French, and produced literature of sustained 
excellence. 

VoiTURE, Benserade, and other stylists of the Hotel de Ram- 
bouillet on one hand, created a variety of Euphuism, called 
"style precieux " , by which French acquired elegance and sup- 
pleness. Balzac, on the other, showed how to build lofty 
periods. Then came Malherbe, who weeded the vocabulary of 
useless additions from classical or foreign tongues, and taught 
clear, concise construction, and strict versification. Vaugelas, 
BoUHOURS, MANAGE, the French Academy, defined with further 
rigour the limits of our vocabulary and syntax. In the accurate 
language thus formed, the great writers of the time composed 
their master-pieces. 

The philosophers and divines were : Descartes, Pascal, 
Malebranche, Nicole, Bossuet, F^nelon, 
BouRDALOUE, Massillon, Flf.chier, Arnauld, 
etc. 

The classical stage was created by Rotrou, 
CoRNEiLLE, Moliere, Racine and Regnier. 

The novels of d'Urf6, Scud^ry, F6nelon, 
Mme de La Fayette, Scarron, the Tales of 
La Fontaine, Perrault, etc., amused the 
minds with fiction, while the Fables of 
La Fontaine, the polemics of Pascal, the essays 
of La Rochefoucauld and La Bruyere, dis- 
cussed moral or practical problems. 

The master critic of the day was Boileau, 
" legislateur du Parnasse ". The terrible 
Memoirs of Saint Simon are of that period, 
but could not be published before 1829. 

The main subject of that literature was man, 
as a religious and an ethical being. Therewas no scope in it for true 
lyrical poetry; individuality, just come to light in the preceding 
age, was repressed by absolute monarchy, and dogmatic belief 

- 125 - 




Moliere 

by Mignard 

(See Louis XIV; 

also Painting). 



LITERATURE 

The great creation of the age is our classical tragedy, which 
stands as high in the perfection of its method as Shalcespeare's 
art among individual achievements. Outwardly, it all rests on 
three "unities", a threefold singleness: singleness of interest : 
the plot must be quite simple, the question at issue, the dread- 
ed or desired event, must always be present to the hearer's 
mind ; singleness of time : one day, 36 hours at most, must suf- 
fice ; 20 years cannot be packed into 3 hours; singleness of 
place : we may move from one room of a palace to another, 
but no farther. Other rules strictly followed were : no blending 
of comedy and tragedy ; all deaths and murders to take place 
behind the scenes, etc. In other words, anything unlikely or 
besides the point is to be avoided ; we must not be bothered or 
diverted by the shifting of scenes, ill-timed jokes, side-episodes: 
all must be calculated for concentration, of the mind, upon a 
psychological conflict. This object is further secured by the form 
of expression invariably used. All high-sounding words are 
excluded, as well as concrete or sensuous vocabulary ; only verse 
is used, in its most puritanic form : equal lines of 12 syllables 
(divided 6-6), all rhyming 2 and 2, 2 feminine rhymes (ending in 
mute " e ") following, and being followed by, 2 masculine... 

At the antipode of this solemn architecture, fit for an elite, 
stands La Fontaine, the Bible of the French nation. Every 
child with us learns his Fables by heart, and our adults can 
never admire too much his sensibility and intelligence, nor 
the unobtrusive perfection of his style. He probably was our 
best poet (E. Faguet) ; yet a foreigner will " see nothing in him ", 
even in French, and he does not bear translating. 

IV. The XVIIIth Century, or Age of Voltaire, is decidedly 
the age of prose. The poems of that time are monuments of 
unpoetic method ; they teach how poetry should not be written. 
The mysticism and majesty of the previous age are gone ; the 
attention of the public (there is now a large public), mainly 
bears on social and political problems. 

Ironical comedy, with Beaumarchais ; thoughtful -fiction, with 
FoNTENELLE, Le Sage, Abbe Provost and Rousseau ; history 
with Montesquieu and Voltaire, the " Encyclopedie " of 
d'Alembert and Diderot, the economic theories, or the Utopias, 
of such men as Quesnay, Turcot, Gournay, Condorcet, 
MoRELLY, Mably, all contribute to a thorough examination of 
former and contemporary societies. Belief in an immovable 
dogma yields to faith in scientific progress ; while the indefinite 
possibilities of popular government gradually obscure the sup- 
posed perfections of absolute monarchy. The writers of the 
xviiith pave the way for the Revolution. 

V. XlXth Century and VI. Present times. — During the 
brief stormy period that followed, the Muses did not dare to lift 
tljeir voices. Oratory engaged the best talents. Andr|; 

— 126 -T- 



LITERATURE 

Ch6nier, a young poet of genius and a fore-runner of the new 
school, died on the scaffold in 1794- The magnificent prose of 
Chateaubriand (1768-1848) was the only substitute for poetry 
until, in 1820, the great "Renascence of Wonder" which we call 
" romantisme", broke upon us with Lamartine. 

ViGNY followed in 1822, and young Hugo, still classical at the 
time, gave his "Odes" in the same year; in the same year 
again, Stendhal published his attack on the classical school 
entitled " Racine et Shakespeare ". In 1827, Hugo became 
the leader of the new sch ool ( " Preface " of " Cromwell "); in 1 8 29 , 
ViGNY gave us at last a true translation of Shakespeare (Othello), 
and the success of Hugo's "Hernani", 5 months later (Feb. 
1830), ended the rule of impersonal literature. Romanticism 
meant personal impressions and problems, modern, mediaeval or 
popular subjects, sensation, sentiment, and a renovation of lan- 
guage and style; for this last Hugo and Th^ophile Gautier 
were mostly responsible. For the first time since our Renais- 
sance (except in La Fontaine, or quite occasionally), French 
verse sang as you read it ; and for the first time also it ceased 
to be exceptional and almost improper for an individual 
to pour out his soul in the words that came to his lips at the 
time. Our romanticists could not measure the whole breadth 
of Shakespeare ; they failed to see how natural he is, how 
perfectly poised he can be, they chose to see in him chiefly 
what they chiefly longed to express, their own fever and anxie- 
ties, yet they were right in claiming him as their patron, for he 
was the highest representative of the Renaissance, and they 
learned from him almost as much as from our Ronsard. After 
Vigny, a son of Hugo gave us a translation of him ; Hugo 
himself wrote a most enthusiastic, if rather chaotic volume, 
about him. 

Our stage, however, had been classical too long, to depart verj?- 
noticeably from our classical models, and in spite of Dumas 
pere, Hugo, Vigny, Scribe, Musset, and many more, the revo- 
lution heralded by romanticism chiefly affected lyric poetry and 
the novel. 

After this individualistic period, a strong reaction set in 
about 1850. But this time there was no question of returning 
to the classical rules. The individual accepted a guide, but the 
guide was not to be Boileau : it was to be Science. Two French 
thinkers, Renan and Taine, and the enormous influence of 
Darwin (transl. 1862) introduced into literature the spirit of 
scientific research, and a new dramatic factor, as awful as the 
Fates of pagan days, the unalterable Will of Nature. 

Balzac had begun that revolution when he portrayed the 
people of his time, with their clothes and their houses, their 
furniture and their errors in grammar, exactly as he had seen 
and heard them; but his "realisme" took a new meaning in th^ 
g,nthropological monographies of a Zola. 



LOUIS XIV 

In poetry, a similar reaction against fancy gave us the 
Parnassian school, of poets (chiefly Leconte de Lisle), who 
aimed at absolute impersonal beauty. 

Both in prose and poetry, however, other schools soon follow- 
ed, and the multiplicity of schools meant freedom. A Verlaine 
or a Daudet, whatever they may have been labelled by them- 
selves or by others, are mostly themselves. It was Daudet who 
said : "There are but two schools after all, those who have 
talent, and those who have not." 

No century of our literature has been so fruitful as the xixth, 
and of writing of books there seems to be no end yet. Long 
lists of names can be found in aliy of the books recommended 
below, by the reader who cares to follow the subject; perhaps 
the big five of some categories may prove more useful here. 



Dead. 



Poets 


Novelets 


Dramatists 


Hugo 


Balzac 


AUGIER 


Lamartine 


Daudet 


Becque 


MUSSET 


Flaubert 


Dumas fils 


Verlaine 


Stendhal 


Hervieu 


ViGNY 


Zola 


Sardou 


Claudel 


Barres 


Bataille 


Haraucourt 


Bazin 


Brieux 


Jammes 


Bourget 


De Curel 


De Ri;GNiER 


France 


DONNAY 


RiCHEPIN 


LOTI 


Rostand 



Living. 



Books recommended. — ■ G. Lanson, Histoire de la Litterature jranfaise (Ha- 
chette, 4 fr.). — Brunetiere, Manuel de I'Hist. de la Litt. jr. (Delagrave, 5 fr.) ; 
^ — also the works of Sainte-Beuve, E. Faguet, G. Paris, J. Lemaitre, J. Bedier. 

Saintsbury, A Primer of French Literature, 5th Edition, (Clarendon Press, 1912). 
' — Wright (C. H. C), A History of French Literature (Oxford University Press, 
New York, H. Froude, London, 1912). 



LOUIS XIV. — It has often been maintained that he was tyran- 
nical, selfish, not very clever, madly fond of war and display ; and 
that, if so many great things were achieved under his reign, it was 
partly due to the power of France at the time, to his luck in being 
seconded by able men, who happened to be living precisely in 
his days, to his good fortune also in coming after Henry IV and 
Richelieu, who had paved for him the way to absolute monarchy. 
What has not been said, in order to diminish his astounding 
reputation ? Yet, the popular verdict, the inexplicable prestige, 
have survived ; he still is the Great Monarch, Louis the Great, 
the Sun-King. Monuments and institutions recall on all hands 
the greatness of his rule. If such greatness was due to luck, 
then would luck so exceptional still deserve fame almost as much 
as talent. But the luck theory does not tally with the facts. 

Given a system of government based on the unfettered will 
pf on^ man, either this tyrant must be past-master in every 

— 1^8 — 




LOUIS XIV 

branch of king-craft, from war and diplomacy to legislation 
and social economy ; or on the contrary he must always remain 
above any particular arts, simply taking his 
guidance from a high sense of duty, a shrewd 
sense of men, and strong ordinary common 
sense. Napoleon was a ruler of the former 
kind ; the vastness of his task overpowered 
him after a few years, in spite of his super- 
human gifts. Louis XIV belonged to the 
latter type, and died in his Palace, at 77 
years of age, almost as powerful as he had 
ever been, after accomplishing more for 

France than Napoleon had done. No sensi- ^ 

ble man, who knows how hard it is merely louis XIV 

to keep what one possesses, no sound busi- by Rigaud 

ness man will ever believe that the compara- (Louvre Museum). 
five success of Louis XIV was due to accident. 

He was born in 1638 ; Richelieu died in 1642, Louis XIII in 
1643. From 1642 to 1661, the Kingdom was ruled by Mazarin. 
Ever since the assassination of Henry IV in 161 o, the French Kings 
had been impersonal authorities ; Queen Mothers and Prime Minis- 
ters had ruled for them. The idleness of Kings had become a 
tradition, as their divine right became a dogma. When Mazarin 
died, the Queen Mother and the courtiers looked round for his 
successor. A noble bishop, who had some claim to urge, asked the 
young King to what minister he should present it : " Present it 
to myself, " said Louis, " I will settle it at once. " The noble 
bishop was surprised, almost amused ; the Queen Mother laughed. 
This monarch of 23 had received practically no education ; Maza- 
rin, subtle Italian that he was, had seen to it that he should have 
concerts and ballets to his heart's content, and had never mention- 
ed business to him. But Louis, from that day to his death, 
never relinquished his duties. Twice a day, he discussed with 
his ministers all the affairs of his realm ; he kept perfectly acquaint- 
ed with the doings of everybody, prying even into family affairs 
or scandals ; nothing escaped him ; he was the accomplished 
business man, who knows all about his employees ; and his " con- 
cern " was the whole nation. 

Then he was a good judge of men. Colbert would not have 
been chosen by the people, or would not have stayed long in 
office if he had : he was an unassuming commoner, the son of a draper 
ofRheims; Louis kept him in his service twenty-two years; Colbert 
had to be buried at night, for fear of the insults of the Paris mob, 
who made him responsible for the heavy taxation which unfortunate 
wars had made inevitable. Louis had the common-sense to trust 
absolutely the grand common-sense of Boileau. We now forget 
that the writers whose names have survived were not the most 
popular at the time ; Louis once asked his master critic : " Who is 
the best writer to-day ? " — " Sire, " replied Boileau, " Moliere 

SAILLENS 129 9 



LOUIS XIV 

IS. '' — " Really, " answered Louis quietly and modestly, " 1 had 
no idea that he was. " But he went by the verdict of his expert, 
which Napoleon would not have done ; and when his courtiers 
offered indignity to Moliere one day (Moliere filled a nominal 
inferior post at the Court), the King, in order to give them alesson, 
prayed Moliere to sit with him at dinner, and served him with 
his own hands. This method of choosing a few reliable experts, 
and then trusting them, is one that Anglo-Saxons appreciate ; 
it is indispensable to the conduct of any great undertaking ; 
Louis seldom departed from it, except at the end of his life, when 
success and flattery had spoiled him. Efficiency always had a 
claim on him,- One of his best admirals, Duquesne, was a Hugue- 
not. Louis remonstrated with him about it, one day, at the 
time of the persecutions. Duquesne boldly replied : " Yes, Sire, 
I am a Huguenot ; but my services are true Catholics. " The 
King's silence assented. Jean Bart, the great corsair, having 
been summoned to Versailles to be presented to Louis after a 
brilliant battle, lighted his pipe, while waiting for the King. 
The courtiers present gave him solemn warning. When the 
King came in, he merely said : " Only Monsieur Jean Bart 
has a right to smoke here. " Then he asked the sailor to explain 
how he had routed English ships far superior in number. Jean 
Bart at once began a vivid repetition of the batt e, one courtier 
being such a ship, and another such another, then gave lusty 
thrusts this way and that, to the dismay of the noble gentlemen, 
and the hearty delight of the King. 

Louis breathed and acted the words of Riche ieu : " My two 
objects have ever been : first, the majesty of the King, and then 
the greatness of the Realm. " His majesty was to Louis an 
article of faith indeed. He did believe that Kings " held their 
commissions " from God Himself, were partly inspired by Him, 
were accountable to Him only, and must command special re- 
spect from all men. His Instructions to his son leave no doubt 
on the point. He was a man in the full sense of the term, and 
a gentleman. He had his weaknesses, and his refinements ; his 
illegitimate children held high rank at the Court, and he invariably 
saluted even the laundresses and chamber-maids in his Palace. 
But as a king, he was always a king. It was he who said: "Punc- 
tuality is the politeness of kings " ; thus far they must go, but 
no farther. One day, as some courtier arrived just in time, 
Louis, who was always punctual, hinted to him : " I almost 
waited. " This exactness he carried to pitilessness, when great 
interests were involved. He began his personal rule by getting 
rid of an over-powerful minister, Fouquet, who had accumulated 
immense and scandalous wealth, and had the man emprisoned for 
life. The famous " man with the iron mask " was another of his 
life-prisoners. He sent to the galleys for life thousands of Hugue- 
nots. He practised what Napoleon was to recommend later : 
" a ruler's heart must be in his head. " He made many mistakes, 

— 130 — 



Louis xiv 

because he did much, and hved long ; but he remained true td 
his duty, as he understood it. 

He was 74, and had just undergone trials that would 
have overcome an ordinary man. He had lost almost every 
member of his family, the heir to the throne being a great-grandson 
five years old ; Austria and Spain had invaded the North of 
France, and only one army was left us. Louis said to Marshal 
Villars : " You see how I stand. Monsieur le Marechal ; there are 
very few instances of what is happening to me, of any one losing 
in the same week his grandson, his grand-daughter-in-law, and their 
son, all of great promise, and tenderly beloved. God punishes 
me ; I have deserved it. " Then he went on : " The trust I put in 
you is most evident, since I commit to you the forces and the 
salvation of the State. I know your zeal and the valour of my 
troops; but, after all, fortune may prove against you; if the 
army under your command should be so unfortunate, what reso- 
lution should I take, in your opinion ? " Villars did not know 
what to say, and faltered. The King resumed : " As to me, I know 
that such important forces can never be so utterly defeated 
that the most part of mine may not withdraw on the Somme. I 
would go to Peronne or Saint-Quentin, collect there all the troops 
left to me, make a last effort with you, and we should die together 
or save the State. " Villars won Denain. Was it luck ? 

Surely it was not Louis who was lucky, but France : she needed 
unity, and found it in a man, whose single aim was unity ; she 
needed important reforms, and stable institutions, which can 
never be improvised, and found a ruler whose vigorous impulse 
never failed in 54 years ; she was fond of order, wealth, literature, 
and the arts, as much as of military greatness : her King was 
truly French on all those points. 

The Duke of Saint-Simon, the bitterest critic of Louis XIV (see 
Nobiliiy),ha.s left us the following portrait of him : 

" His height, bearing, graces, his handsomeness, and the grand 
mien which followed the handsomeness, the very sound of his voice, 
the adroitness and the natural majestic grace of his whole being, 
all singled him out to the day of his death ; he was as recognizable 
as the bee-king... Never did any one give with a better grace, 
and thereby so much enhance the price of his gifts. Never did 
any one obtain higher returns for his words, his smiles, his very 
glances ; he made them all valuable by choice and majesty, to 
which the paucity and brevity of his words added much. Never 
did he forget himself in saying anything unpleasant to any one ; 
if he must reprehend, he always did so with an appearance of 
more or less kindness, hardly ever drily, never angrily ; sometimes 
with an air of sternness. No man was ever more polite, nor with 
a more perfectly graduated politeness... either in his answers, 
when they went beyond his " I will see, " or in his manners... He 
was very fond of the open air, and of sports, having excelled at 
" paume ", " mail " , and dancing. He was still admirable on 

— 131 — 



Maritime 

horseback in his old age. He was fond of shooting, and there was 
no marksman to equal him... He was inscrutably secret... Wher- 
ever he was, it was enough for one to know the day and the hour, 
to know also what he was doing, so continuously regular was his 
outward life. It is hardly credible how this exactness made the 
execution of everybody's business speedy, regular, and commo- 
dious. He was fond of glory ; he exacted order and regularity ; 
he had been born wise, moderate, secret, master of all his motions 
and of his tongue. Could one believe it ? He had been born kind 
and just, and God had given him the qualifications of a good 
King, and perhaps of a fairly great King. His disqualifications 
came from without. " 

From the Instructions of Louis XIV to his son. — " Resolve : 
God made you King (his son never reigned) ; he will afford you 
the necessary guidance... There are no doubt certain functions, 
where, since we stand in the place of God, we seem to partici- 
pate in His knowledge as well as His authority... Never 
be attached to any one... All things throughout our dominions, 
of any nature whatever, belong to us ; from the deniers in our 
privy purse, to those that remain in the hands of our treasurers, 
and those we allow to remain in the commerce of our subjects... " 

Books recommended. — Lavisse, Histoire de France, Vol. VII (Hachette). 
Saint-Simon, Scenes et portraits (Hachette). — Voltaire, Sidcle de Louis XIV. 
Hassall, Louis XIV (Heroes of the Nations series). 



MARITIME. — I. Navy. — Our coast-line (about i,ooo miles) 
is dividedinto5 " Arrondissements Maritimes" ,-pla.cedunder " Pre- 
fets Maritimes " , the 5 chief naval ports being : Cherbourg 
(Normandy), Brest and Lorient (Brittany), Rochefort (West, 
between Nantes and Bordeaux), and Toulon (Mediterranean). 
Besides, our Colonies offer us naval bases at Oran and Bizerte 
(N. Africa), Saigon and Hongaj (Asia) ; Diego Suarez (Madagas- 
car) ; Dakar (W. Africa) ; Fort de France (Martinique) ; and 
Noumea (New Caledonia). 

The naval fleet, divided into 3 Squadrons (Channel, Mediter- 
ranean, Far East) and 4 Divisions (Indian Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific, 
Cochin-China) numbered before the war 550 units, including 
27 battleships, 7 coast-defence ironclads, 36 protected cruisers, 
19 armoured cruisers, 22 sloops, 45 destroyers, 307 torpedo-boats, 
94 submarines, and 8 auxiliary cruisers ; manned by 55,248 sailors, 
under 1,948 officers. 

The fighting efficiency of our Navy is intrusted to the special 
care of the " Conseil Superieur de la Marine " (3 Vice- Admirals, 
the Chief of the Staff, and a few other specialists), who act as 
technical advisers to the Minister. 

The higher personnel is drawn from the special schools of Brest 
(Borda), Paris, and Toulon (School of torpedoes and gunnery). 

— 132 — 



MARITIME 

A special organization, dating from Colbert (1681), ensures the 
recruiting of the Navy from the sailor population. The men serve 
for 7 years, but receive a special pay, and a pension. Moreover, 
the Navy is entitled, since 1875, to draw from land contingents 
when necessary. 

Our naval expenditure for 1913 was $97,800,000 (£19,560,000). 

Early feudalism deprived our Kings of all sea power. Philippe- 
Auguste had to use Genoese ships on the 3rd Crusade, whereas 
the confiscation of Normandy (1204) gave him our first fleet, 
of 1700 (?) sail. From that day our Kings always had a Navy, 
which however they often supplemented with foreign ships. In 
1372, the French and Spanish defeated an English fleet off La 
Rochelle ; in 1377, Admiral Jean de Vienne ravaged the English 
coasts ; in 1545, Francis I assembled at Le Havre a large fleet 
of 235 vessels, with a view to take Boulogne, etc. But we had 
never regarded our Navy as a vital institution, and it was allowed 
almost to vanish during the Wars of Relig'on. 

Richelieu, in 1626, remedied this situation by purchasing from 
Montmorency his Admiralship, and making himself " Grand Mai- 
tre et Surintendant de la Navigation ". Very soon we had 60 ves- 
sels on the Ocean against England, and 40 on the Medit. against 
Spain. Mazarin neglected the Navy, but if; rose again under 
Louis XIV, especially with Colbert. By 1672, we had 60,000 sail- 
ors ; by 1669, the marines had been instituted. Colbert's son, 
Seignelay, assisted by his father, completed the organization. 
By 1 68 1, Duquesne had beaten Ruyter, and the Spaniards gave 
first salute to our pavilion. But the death of Colbert and the 
jealousy of Louvois checked further progress, and the defeat of 
Tourville at the Hogue (1698) dealt a fatal blow to our prestige. 
Our fleet was neglected during the first part of Louis XV's reign, 
and badly beaten during the latter part. 

There was a revival under Louis XVI (see : La Fayette) ; 
Cherbourg was built ; La Perouse and Bougainville carried our 
flag across unknown seas. But both the Revolution and Napo- 
leon were too busy on the Continent to make our Navy as efficient 
as was necessary. They were far from neglecting it ; Napoleon, 
while a mere second lieutenant in the Artillery, used to keep 
records of the strength in men and guns of every ship... But of 
all things a navy is not to be improvised. 

To sum up : in spite of our exceptional coast-line, " which 
seems to offer us, " said Richelieu, "the rule of the seas," our contin- 
ental situation, especially our fatal N.-E. frontier, allowed us to 
develop our Navy but fitfully. 

II. Harbours and Shipping. — The greatest French har- 
bour is Marseilles (entered in 1911 : 5,476,000 tons; cleared: 
2,700,000 : over 8 million tons in all ; Antwerp, 17 1/2; Ham- 
burg, 23 ; Genoa, 7). 

It is the headquarters of the " Messageries Maritimes ", and 

— 133 — 



MARITIME 

of the " Compagnie Genevale, Transatlaniique ". It has regulal 
services to Mediterranean countries. West Africa, Madagascar 
India and the East, Austraha, New Caledonia, and South 
America. 

Its prosperity has suffered to some extent lately through the 
opening up of the Simplon and the Gothard tunnels, which are 
all in favour of Genoa and Trieste. But a wide canal, cut through 
mountains, and achieved during this war, is expected to improve 
conditions greatly ; it connects Marseilles with the Rhone and 
Bordeaux (see : Waterways). The " Marseillais " also con- 
template the opening of canal which would follow the Rhone as 
far up as Lyons, the Rhone being rather unreliable. 

Dunkerque is the harbour of the Northern region (3,400,000 
tons) ; it used to be more important than it is now, and is growing 
fast again. (55,000 tons of Indian jute; 200,000 tons of timber; 
80 % of total nitrates imported to France.) 

Boulogne and Calais. ^ — Between them, handle 200 million dollars 
worth of goods ; the latter is the premier fishing-harbour on the 
Continent (fish sold in 1911 : 24 1/2 million fr. ; value of boats 
and nets : 43 1/2 million fr.). 

Dieppe, our most enterprising harbour in days gone by, is 
still in touch with our Colonies (600,000 tons). 

Fecamp : 15.000 tons of cod-fish ; and 80 million herrings. 

Le Havre, like Marseilles, opens right on the sea, whereas 
most of our old harbours, built in the mouths of rivers or even 
further inland, are now too shallow to admit modern ships. Le 
Havre was precisely meant to supplement Rouen. 

The population of Le Havre is 140,000 ; it handles 3.5 million 
tons. The " Cie Genevale Transatlaniique " and the " Cie des 
Chargeurs Reunis " have sailings from there to N. America, Brazil, 
Africa, Great Britain, etc. 

It is the world market of coffee (2 million bags in 1910) ; its 
total trade is 3 billion fr. ; some of the goods handled being : 
I million bales of cotton, 11,000 tons of rubber, (total rubber 
for France : 14,000 tons.), 65,000 tons of copper, and 80.000 tons 
of timber. 70 shipping lines use Le Havre regularly. They 
carry 173,000 passengers. 

Rouen (362,000 tons), long superseded by Le Havre, is pro- 
gressing again, in spite of its inland situation, thanks to impor- 
tant dredgings, etc. Population 150,000. 

Caen handles i million tons, and is bound to develop, owing 
to the Norman iron mines and foundries near by. 

Cherbourg is an excellent port of call, thanks to its draught 
of water, and central position (roads : 3,750 acres, 5 miles 
long). The newly discovered coal and iron mines of Cotentin 
promise a great future to its neighbour Dielette. 

Granville : 3 million tons of cod-fish. Service to Channel 
Islands. 

^ 134 ^ 



MARITIME 

Saint-Malo : the mother, and present metropoHs, of Saint Pierre 
et Miquelon. Service to Chann. Isl. and Southampton (25,000 
passengers). Potatoes to England and Brazil. Sends 2,000 fish- 
ermen to Newfoundl. Banks. Handles 395,000 tons of goods. 

Paimpol : cod-fishing off Iceland (Pierre Loti). 

Roscoff : zoological laboratory, an annex of Paris University ; 
there is a similar one at Banyuls, near Perpignan. Along this 
coast, 4 factories prepare iodine from sea-weeds. 

Brest : Mostly naval ; remarkable roads, but entrance unsafe. 

Douarnenez and Concarneau : 40 million tins of sardines each. 

Lorient : founded in 1666 by the French East India Company 
(hence its name) ; naval harbour since 1690. Sends pine-wood 
to Welsh mines. 

Saint-Nazaire : advanced port of Nantes, and twice as impor- 
tant, was built in 1845, 1856, 1881. Total trade : 1,300,000 
tons ; (coal only : 950,000). Important ship-yards. 

Nantes, on the Loire, is the replica of Bristol in climate, situa- 
tion. West Indian trade and associations, etc. Its Avenmouth is 
Saint-Nazaire, the harbour for the modern ships that cannot 
steam so far up as Nantes. 

The harbours between Brest and Nantes make a yearly 
catch of 13,000 tons of sardines, and 2,000 tons of mac- 
kerel. Between Landerneau and Nantes: 35 small harbours; one 
of them Loctudy, sends 17,600 tons of potatoes to England. 

Further South are La Rochelle and its advanced port La Palice ; 
then Bordeaux (3,900,000 tons) and its young rivals or seconds 
Royan and Pauillac 

Cette, on the Mediterranean, sends wine to all parts of the 
world by sea, and to Bordeaux by the Canal du Languedoc. 

Algiers is so near to our coast that it should be regarded as 
French. It is a very important coaling station; and its traffic 
amounted to 531 million francs in 1913. 

Minor harbours, handling less than 450,000 tons : 

Between Dunkirk and Saint-Malo , . 30 (N. and N.-W.) 
Saint-Malo and Saint-Nazaire 59 (Brittany) 
Saint-Nazaire and Bordeaux. 36 

Bordeaux- Bay onne 2 (Landes) 

E. Pyrenees-Marseilles. ... 8 
Marseilles-Italy 19 

Ship-building is mostly carried on at : Boulogne, St-Nazaire, 
Pauillac, Le Boucau, La Seyne, La Ciotat, Port-de-Bouc. 
Average output before the war: 800 tons a month ; U. K. : 1,000. 

Our mercantile marine is 5th in the world in importance; 
it numbered in 1913 14,500 bottoms, carrying 2,470,000 tons. 
Our steam-shipping (1,700,000 tons) comes after that of U. K., 
Germany, and U. S. A. Our sailing vessels (770,000 tons) after 
those of Norway and Russia. Although our trade grows, and 
2 /3 of it is sea-borne, 3 /4 of the shipping in French ports is foreign. 

- 135 - 



MARNE 

Our shipping progresses, but not so fast as our trade. Most of 
our Navigation Companies receive bounties from the State, but 
none of them can compare with some British or German firms. As 
to our coasting trade, it is of about 3 million tons only. The 
reason for this torpid condition of our shipping is not far to seek. 
We are mainly agricultural, and import mostly for our own use. 
What we export is valuable, but does not take up much room. 
Books, jewellery, pictures, bonnets, etc., are remunerative, but can 
form only part of a cargo. Our shipping suffers, and is likely to 
suffer for years to come, from scarcity of outward-bound cargo. 

Progress of French mercantile marine from 1891 to 1905 : 





ENTERED 

French bott. 


(tons) 
Foreign b. 


CLEARED (tons) 
French b. | Foreign b. 


1891-95. . 

I896-I900. 
1900-05. . 


4 277.967 
4.665.268 
4.782. lOI 


9.947.893 
12.037.571 
14.744.626 


4 521.928 
5.005.563 
5.503.463 


10.091.000 
12.103.358 
14.823.217 



Books recommended. — J.-L. de Lanessan, La Marine fraiifaise (Paris, 
1890.) — Notices about 60 French harbours issued by the " Ministere des Travaux 
publics", (Beranger). — Ch.de la Ronciere, Histoire de la Marine franfaise (Plon, 
4 vol., 12 fr. each). — Lieutenant Delpeuch, Livre d'or de la marine frangaise (1217- 
igoo) (Berger-Levrault, 3 francs). — Juiien de la Graviere, Guerres maritimes 
(Paris, 1865). — • L. Abeille, Marine franfaise et marines etrangeres (Colin, 3 fr. 50). 
— De Rousiers, Les Grands Ports de France (Colin, 3 fr.). — Charles-Rou-x, Notre 
Marine marchande (Colin, 4 fr.). — Ch. Lenteric, Ports franfais de I'Ocean. 
Ports franfais de la Manche. Provence maritime ancienne et moderne (all publ. by 
Plon, 5 fr., 5 fr. and 3 fr. 50). — Nos Marins et la guerre (Official communiques. 
Berger-Levrault, i fr. 20). 

Lord (W. L.), The English and French in ths Mediterranean iioo to 1783 (1901). 



MARNE. — The original plan of J off re had been to strike at 
Prussia across the Rhine. But, by disregarding the Russian front, 
scraps of paper, and formal declarations of war, the Germans were 
enabled to launch a premature and powerful attack over the 
whole length of our N.-E. frontier, from the Vosges to the sea. 

Joffre managed his resources so rapidly and skilfully that, while 
he held the Germans in check on the points where he had expected 
them, he could send sufficient troops into Belgium (among which 
the British Force), to avoid being turned. Yet, the battle that the 
British call Mons and we call Charleroi (Aug., 20-23), was a 
defeat. This was the prologue of the Marne. 

Two courses were then open to Joffre : to go on fighting prac- 
tically where he stood, or retreat to a position on which he could 
bring fresh troops. He chose the latter course ; by Aug. 34, hi§ 

- 136^ 



MARNE 

plan was fully made. The problem was to gauge exactly how 
many more men could be drawn from the rest of the front, or 
brought up from the interior, and then to combine their routes, 
times, and means of transport, in co-ordination with the marching 
and the lighting of the retiring troops, in such a manner that all 
should meet on suitable positions before the Germans could attack 
in force. 

A first concentration by Amiens was contemplated ; but the 
German right advanced far too quickly, and the retreat went on at 
the speed of 40 to 50 kilometres a day, men of both armies drop- 
ping dead from fatigue on the sultry roads, the Germans eager to 
reach Paris with all possible speed, finish us, and turn against 
Russia ; the French and British checking their progress by short 
lively engagements, and a generous use of shells. 

On the ist of Sept. Joffre marked out the line beyond which 
there was to be no retreating : a position in Champagne, from the 
upper reaches of the Seine to the Argonne Hills. But his oppor- 
tunity came to him before his men had reached that line, and he 
seized it. On the 4th, all available troops were already well linked 
together, while the line reached coincided roughly with the valley 
of the Marne (Paris-Verdun). On the previous day, the ist 
German Army, instead of continuing its march on Paris, had 
deflected its course eastward with a view to outflanking and 
annihilating the main body of our retiring troops. It found itself 
faced by one French Army, and slightly outflanked by the British 
Force and another French Army ! Whether the Germans had 
simply ignored this outflanking, as they despised the supposed 
" reninants " of our forces further East, is not known. At any 
rate, when our extieme left, under Maunoury, on the 5th, began 
to show decided activity on their extreme right, they saw their 
peril, and halted. The same night, Jofire issued to his troops 
the following message : 

" At the moment when a battle begins on which the fate of this 
country depends, every man must be reminded that the time is 
past for looking behind ; every effort must bear on attacking and 
driving back the enemy. When a unit can no longer advance, it 
must keep at all costs the ground gained, and die where it stands 
rather than fall back. Under the present circumstances, no 
flinching can be tolerated. 

Battle was joined, all along the hne, early next morning. 
After seven days' furious fighting, the enemy was driven back. 

The Armies engaged were, from Paris to Verdun : 

Allies : 6th Army : under Maunoury ; British Force : French ; 
5th Army : Franchet d'Esperey ; gih Army : Foch ; 4th Army : 
Langle de Gary ; 3rd Army : Sarrail. 

Germans : ist Army : von Kliick ; 2nd Army : von Biilow ; 
3rd Army : von Hansen ; 4th Army : Duke of Wurtemberg ; 
5th Army : German Kronprinz. 

- 137 - 



MARNE 

The vast engagement comprised a number of distinct important 
battles ; which all fall roughly under three heads, as the Germans 
battered our line more desperately at three points : the extreme 
left (Maunoury, and Paris) ; our centre (Foch, and the Marais de 
St.-Gond, S. of the Marne); our extreme right (Sarrailand Verdun). 




BATTLE OF THE MARNE. 

Showing how the Germans first pivoted round Metz, then advanced on Nancy 
as soon as their line touched the French frontier from the East- to Tourcoing. 
Nancy and Verdun, however, checljed them so effectually that only their right 
wing could advance; and they had to pivot round Verdun. 

In the nights of Sept. 6-7 and 7-8 the Governor of Paris, Gallieni, 
who, according to German reckonings and orthodox strategy, 
should not have parted with his garrison, sent to the Army of 
Maunoury every man in uniform he could lay his hands upon, 
firemen and all, requisitioning for the purpose about 1,000 of the 
Paris taxis. On the 9th, the 62nd Divi-Sion, which had just 

— 138 - 



ALrUED and GERMAN FORCE/ 

Western Front - AUGl^T - DECEMBER 19l4 



ON THE LINEAlONDE' 
MONS-BINCHE 




BATTLE OF THE M ARNE 
German/ 

>.ooo 

French 

& 
^British 





DIXMUPJ&' 
9.00a 

marine/' 
holo out. 
7 day/ 



MARNE 

arrived in Paris, was dispatched to Maunoury in the same way. 

Foch, in spite of the help he received sometimes from his right, 
sometimes from his left, was beaten back three days in succession ; 
his cheerfu message, on the third evening, was : " The situation is 
excellent ; my right is driven back ; so is my left; I am pushing my 
centre forward. " The next day. he outflanked and utterly 
routed the German centre. 

Sarrail, with the able help of Castelnau and Langle de Cary. 
defeated his two royal opponents. The heroic resistance of 
Troyon Fort, the garrisons and defences of Verdun and Nancy, 
were to him invaluable assets. 

There is a " legend " of the Marne, and some have called it a 
miracle. Others have insisted on its national, as distinguished 
frorn its military character. Both views make too little of the 
efficiency of our officers, from J off re downwards, of their bravery 
and cool-headedness, and of the whole-hearted way in which they 
all worked together. Even if the success of the battle was all 
their own, it would still be national, for they belonged to all 
classes of the nation. Yet it is true that on that day the nation 
achieved the unexpected. The men realized with extraordinary 
clearness the extreme peril of the situation, yet never lost heart or 
hope. They rose to the occasion, and did more than any save 
their leaders could have expected of them. Joffre had thought 
out every measure, but there was one incalculable element on 
which everything depended in the last resort. We were said to be 
cankered with alcoholism and " antimilitarisme" ; it was also 
believed that the French soldier could not stand a defeat, and that 
Charleroi, followed by that long torturing retreat, must have 
disheartened him ; but the men of 1914 behaved as well as any 
other French troops in history. Joffre had relied on them ; they 
answered fully to his high expectations of them, which were part 
of his reckonings. 

Our casualties were so heavy that there were no rejoicings over 
the victory, although its magnitude was apprehended at once by 
the whole nation. The forces engaged have been estimated at 
900.000 men on the German side against our 700.000. 
The British Force amounted to only i /30th of the total forces 
engaged, but it was of the first order. 

Though forced to withdraw, the Germans were not altogether 
discouraged, and still tried to outflank us as they drew back. This 
we prevented them from doing by extending our front as fast as 
they did theirs : this epilogue was the " race for the sea ". There 
again did Joffre evince singular judgement and promptitude. The 
Germans being by that time effectually checked in the East, 
thousands of men were convoyed from Verdun and other places 
to Flanders, by train or motor-transport. The sea was reached 
by both armies at the same time ; the Yser refused to let the Ger- 
mans pass, and trench-warfare began (Oct. 1914). Trench- 
warfare is essentially defensive ; the German War was to be 

— 140 — 



MARNfi 

exclusively aggressive : the nature of German operations and 
expectations was radically changed. Prussia had contemplated 
a lightning campaign through France and Russia ; she was faced 
by weeks and months of waiting, intriguing, corruption, piracy, 
starving, slave-driving, the use of gas and fire and mines, aerial 
torpedoes, Zeppelins, and what not... a war that was no war, and 
could end but m ruin : it gave time to our Allies ! 

From the diary found on a prisoner (Staff-Lieutenant R. J., in 
von Kluck's Army) : 

2 Sept. ■ — Since the engagements on the frontier our army has 
done little fighting. The French troops are retreating before us. 

Our men are exhausted. They have been marching 40 kil. a 
day for the last four days. The ground is bad, the roads are des- 
troyed, the trees cut down, the fields pitted with shell-holes. The 
men stumble at every step, their faces all begrimed with dust, 
their clothes in ribbons ; they look like living rags. They march 
with their eyes closed, and sing in chorus, lest they might drop 
asleep on the road. The certainty of instant victory and a 
triumphant entry into Paris keeps their nerves taut. But for 
that certainty they would drop from exhaustion, and lie down 
wherever they happened to be, so as to sleep at last, anywhere and 
anyhow... 

It is the ecstasy of victory that keeps the men alive ; but in 
order to make their bodies as light as their souls, they drink to 
excess. The drink too helps them to keep their legs. 

To-day the General, after an inspection, has gone mad with rage. 
He wanted to stop this collective drunkenness. We have just 
dissuaded him from extreme measures. We must not be too 
harsh, else the men would cease to move on. Such abnormal 
fatigue makes abnormal excitement indispensable. Once in Paris, 
we will stop it all. No alcohol once we are there. Order will 
return when we rest on our laurels. 

3 Sept. — Our main body is camping at present in the Forest of 
Ermemonville (30 kil. N. of Paris). We are to move toward Betz, 
leaving Paris on our right, and then collect our forces to the S.-E., 
opposite the remnants of the Franco-British troops which are 
vainly trying to gather their scattered elements in the Marne 
area. 

Our men are not aware that we have left for the time being the 
road to Paris. They are so sure of being at the gates of Paris to- 
morrow or the next day that it would be cruel to tell them the 
truth. They believe that the period of fighting is over, that the 
French army is destroyed and in hiding, and that we are going 
to enter Paris singing and drinking. 

I have been about the forest in a motor-car behind our armies. 
The sight is awful ; the French guns have opened bloody gaps in 
our ranks. The road is strewn with bodies in heaps. Dead 

— 141 — 



MARNfi 

bodies, thousands of empty tins and millions of empty bottled, 
such is the jetsam left by the flood of our army... 

'wiiile in the Forest of Ermenonville I witnessed a curious scene. 
A battalion was marching, quite done up. At a cross-roads, they 
saw a sign-board bearing : Paris, 3y kil. This was the first 
sign-board not erased. The sight thrilled the men like a galvanic 
battery. That word Paris under their eyes made them simply 
mad. Some hugged the sign-post with both arms, others danced 
around it... The songs revived ; they were no longer the 
traditional tunes, but Parisian love-songs, stupid enough by the 
way. 

4 Sept. — General von Kliick has just passed through Lizy-sur- 
Ourcq on an inspection. His Staff-Colonel has talked to me about 
the operations of the day, and the General's intentions. The 
General has no doubt but that we shall squash rapidly the 
" crumbs " of the hostile army. They are a depressed horde, 
discontented, with no heart left in them. Not the least chance of 
their taking the offensive. The General has no anxieties either 
from the direction of Paris. We shall return to Paris after 
destroying the remnant of the Franco-British Army. The 
IVth Reserve Corps is told off for the triumphal entry into the 
capital... 

However orders have been given to begin earth-works and 
defences on our line Nanteuil-Lizy. The English artillery is still 
pursuing us. Our detachments in the wood of Meaux are shelled 
frightfully. 

To-night, a farm is burning in the neighbourhood of Claye. 
That farm belonged to one of our agents. He set fire to it to 
warn us of danger. Are there any important French forces about 
Paris then ? Yet our Uhlans and aeroplanes have not noticed 
anything. 

That farm on fire gives us concern. The signal had been pre- 
arranged ; its meaning is perfectly certain. 

5 Sept. — Although our reconnaissances give us no certainty on 
the point, our High Command believes that the French are concen- 
trating their forces against our flank. 

Orders are issued for the prompt achievement of the defences... 
The orders are very badly carried out... The workers are exhaust- 
ed or drunk... Our men are too tired, and too bitterly disap- 
pointed... The Staff-Colonel enforces strict discipline. But then 
the discontented soldiers make the French peasantry rue for it. 
They try to cause disorder, they burn and loot in order to evade 
discipline. 

This afternoon there was a regular stir. Is the enemy trying to 
turn our right ? Our patrols have met his about Villeroy... We 
have many wounded ; but he seems to have had more... The 
men are told to fall in and work at the defences... now they under- 
stand, and work hard. If the French were not so completely 

— 142 — 



MARSEiLLAlSfi 

demoralized, they might become most dangerous. Our ist 
Army is far from having the energy and disciphne that made it so 
strong in Belgium and on the Northern French frontier. We 
shall spend the night in raising defences... 

6 Sept. ■ — The battle is begun for good, and the French troops 
seem very keen. The fighting is atrocious, for us as much as for 
our foes... Our people hold the heights, but the French are 
demons ; they charge under shot and shell ; they get killed 
blithely... 

Books recommended. — G. Babin, La batailU de la Marne (Plon, 2 fr.). 

Madelin, La Victoire de la Marne (Plon, 2 fr). — Mme Cladel, Le General Gallieni 
(Berger-Levrault, 2 fr.). — • Michelin, La Bataille de VOurcq (3 fr.). — R. Mercier, 
Nancy sauvee (B.-Levr., 4 fr.). ■ — Ch. Le Goffic, Dixmude (Plon, 3 fr.). — R. Puaux 
La Course a la mer... (B.-Levr., o fr, 75). 

Davis (H. W. C), The Battles of the Marne and Aisne (Oxford Pamphlets, 1914). 
— Aldrich (M.), A Hilltop on the Marne (Constable, 1915). 



MARSEILLAISE. — In 1792, as the Austro-Prussians were 
taking advantage of our political difficulties and threatening Lille 
and Verdun, regiments of volunteers were levied all over France, 
for we had no system of general conscription at the time. 

In the city of Strasbourg, which then was French, the local regi- 
ment had taken the name of " Les Enfants de la Patrie; " the 
first man to enlist had been the son of the able, genial Mayor, 
Baron de Dietrich, the descendant of a Lorrainian family of the 
name of Didier. One morning, on the 24th of April, the new regi- 
ment had paraded through the city to no better music than 
some very feeble tunes, and the song of " Qa ira ". In the evening, 
the Mayor's family and seven guests, all military men, among them 
two Field-Marshals ( the Prince of Broglie and theDukeof Aiguillon), 
discussed various aspects of the situation over an excellent dinner. 
This absence of a good marching-song was deplored ; the Mayor 
was a good singer ; one of his two nieces, Louise (who was to 
become the grandmother of Mme Casimir-Perier), was an able 
pianist, like her mother ; one of the soldiers present, a young 
captain of the name of Rouget de Lisle, could write music and 
verse with some facility. Everybody agreed that " ^a ira " was 
quite unworthy of the great Revolution ; it was sad doggerel, sung 
to a vulgar quadrille ; its refrain was merely a tag of the Parisian 
mob, who had borrowed it from Benjamin Franklin ; the favourite 
of the Parisians had a trick of saying : " Qa ira, pa ira " (It will be 
all right) ; Parisian humour had caught on at once ; but Alsace 
must give a better song than this to her sons in the field... " I 
am going, said Dietrich, to offer a prize to the citizens of Stras- 
bourg for the best song brought to me. But, he added, I believe 
that you, my dear Rouget, should try your hand ; you would 
surely bear off the prize. " The whole company concurred ; then 
the conversation turned on other topics, while the gentlemen 

— 143 — 



MARSEILLAISE 

present, Rouget in particular, generously honoured the Mayor's 
champagne. 

Rouget went to his small lodgings some hours later, and at 
once began to compose verse and music, which he sang or hummed 
to the accompaniment of his fiddle ; then he slipped into bed, woke 
after a few hours, hastily wrote down what he had composed, and 
ran to the house of a brother officer, who altered two lines of one 
stanza. Rouget now proceeded to the Mayor's ; it was just past 
seven, Dietrich was walking in his garden. He looked over the 
song, and said : " Let's go inside and try it ; by the look of it, it 
must be very good or very bad. " A few minutes later, the Mayor 
called up Mme Dietrich, and asked her to write at once to all the 
guests of the preceding night, and invite them to luncheon. They 
came, heard of nothing until luncheon was over, and then the 
Mayor let the miracle burst upon them ! Surely there was no 
occasion to offer a prize. Dietrich had the song printed at once, 
and the band of the " Enfants de la Patrie " performed the " Chant 
de I'Armee du Rhin ". But it had little success in Strasbourg. 
Newspapers and commercial travellers, however, made it known 
throughout France, and by June it had reached Marseilles ; there 
it was adopted enthusiastically, and the young soldiers from 
Marseilles, on their way to Paris and the North-Eastern frontier, 
made it popular ; it was soon called after them " Hymne des 
Marseillais. " In October, as Paris publicly rejoiced over the 
conquest of Savoy, the new song was officially adopted by the 
nation. 

These few facts, recently vouched for by a direct descendant 
of the Mayor, are among the best instances that can well be given 
of the political and social unity of France at the time, and of the 
closeness of our bonds with Alsace even then. Be it noted that 
the origins of the ' ' Marseillaise "are associated with every portion of 
our Eastern frontier, including Champagne, and the birth- 
place of Rouget, Lons-le-Saulnier, a town in Jura. Two more 
coincidences may interest Americans : the younger niece of 
Dietrich, Amelie, who was 13 at the time, was to be the mother 
of a boy who married a grand-daughter of La Fayette ; and the 
Lieutenant-Governor of Alsace in 1792 was the Count of 
Rochambeau. 

Rouget de Lisle composed nothing else worth mentioning ; but 
by that single song has achieved a popularity never reached 
by any other composer. The sailors of the Kaiser sang the 
"Marseillaise" in 1917, a few months after the soldiers of 
the Czar. 

Books recommended. — Albert de Dietrich, La creation de la "Marseillaise" 
(B.bliotheque Als.-Lorr.). — Louis de Joantho, Le triomphe de la "Marseillaise" 
(Plon). — J. Tiersot, Hisioire de la " Marseillaise" (Delagrave), 



— 144 — 



METRIC SYSTEM 



Metric system (••systeme metrique decimal"). -^ Weights and 
measures were fully as complicated in old France as they are to- 
day in Great Britain or America. The " Constituante" of 1790, 
acting on the general principles of unity and simplicity, requested 
a committee of savants to plan a System of Weights and Measures 
that would substitute common sense and general facts for local 
caprice and casual traditions. The committee evolved a system 
in which all units were derived from the measure of an object 
at once invariable in size and accessible to all men at all times : 
the Earth. 

It was found that, by dividing into 10,000,000 equal parts the 
distance from the pole to the equator, one obtained a unit of length 
suitable for daily purposes, amounting to about one half of the 
time-honoured " toise " (i toise : 6 French feet). That unit was 
called " metre " (Gr. : me^fow, measure), i. e, measure " par excel- 
lence". All other units were derived from it, as far as the nature 
of things allowed. 

Why this division into 10,000,000 equal parts ? Because the 
system is not only metric, but decimal. Man has ten fingers, and 
has always practised decimal numeration, in spite of such other 
divisions or groupings as by 3, by 4, by 3 x 4, by 4 x 4, etc. 
(3 feet, 4 farthings, 12 inches, 12 pence, 16 ounces, 16 annas...). 

With a view to further clearness, it was decided that all multi- 
ples should be named by Greek decimals, and all fractions by 
Latin decimals; e. g. : " hectometre " = "metre " X 100; " centi^ 
metre" = "metre" ; 100. 





MULTIPLES 




FRACTIONS 




' 


' 


— 


■ 


UNITS 






^— 




10. 000 


1. 000 


100 


10 




i/io 


i/ioo 


i/iooo 




Mvriam. 
(Mm.) 


Kilom. 
(Km.) 


Uectom. 
(Hm.) 


Decani. 
(Dm.) 


Metre, m. (metre carre, raq.; 
metre cjbe, mc.) 


(lecimet. 
(dm.) 


ccntiin. 
(cm.) 


uiillim. 
(mm.) 




nil 


nil 


Hectare 
(Ha.) 


nil 


Are (land measure) = 
100 mq. 


nil 


Centiare 
(ca.) 


nil 




nil 


nil 


nil 


Decaslerc 


Stere (Timber) = i mc. 


decislere 


nil 


nil 




nil 


Bil 


Hcctol. 


Decalitre 


Litre (fluids, grains) = i dmo. 


(le'cilitrc 


ccnIililiT 


nil 




nil ■ 


Kilogr. 


Hectogr. 


Decagr. 


Gramme (weights) = i cmc. 
of water (at temperat. of 
max. density) 


(lecigr. 


cenligr. 


milligr. 




oil 


nil 


nil 


nil 


Franc = 5 grammes of silver. 


nil 


centime 


miUiine 





145 



METRIC SYSTEM 

Observation, practice, the resistance of the past, have not allow- 
ed the D. M. System to seem or to be as satisfactory as was 
first expected. (The earth may not be invariable in size ; it was 
perhaps not measured accurately at first ; certain multiples are 
not practical, etc.) But the present system is a neatly designed 
park, as compared with the tangled jungle of the past. The 
preceding table shows its simplicity. 

Temperature : the unit of weight cannot be determined 
without some accurate measuring of temperature. If we use dis- 
tilled water, at the altitude of sea-level, and divide into loo the 
difference of temperature between the invariable freezing point 
of ice and the invariable boiling point of water, we get the "cen- 
tigrade" degrees of temperature. 

Heat : one " calorie " is the quantity of heat required for raising 
by one degree centigrade the temperature of one " litre " of distilled 
water. 

Time: at first, even time did not escape the Decimal System; 
the year preserved its twelve months, but the months had three 
" decades " of lo days. It is not advisable here to go into further 
detail : the scheme failed, owing to the Church and the peasant. 

Money : the old " livre " , slightly altered to the exact metric 
weight of 5 " grammes " of silver, became the "franc " , which was 
divided into "decimes" and "centimes." The " decime " hsiS 
fallen into disuse, as a word ; its value is represented by the well- 
known lo centime bronze coin. 

No paper notes under 50 francs existed before the war. Gold 
coins above 20 francs (50, 100) are scarce. Notes of 50 and 
100 are commonly used ; in U.-K. five pound notes are regarded 
very nearly as cheques, which they are essentially ; in France 
banknotes change hands as if they were coin. 

Old terms still in use. 

" Lieue. " — The average distance that a man can walk in one 
hour was called leuca by the Gauls. This is an older measure than 
the English mile, of Roman origin and designation. We have 
kept the word, but the distance is metric, it is of 4 kilometres. 

" Sou. " — The old silver " livre " was worth twenty " sous ". 
We find it convenient to call the 5 centime coin a " sou ", ox a 
" petit sou " : and the 10 centime coin a " gros sou. " Peasants 
still talk of " ecus " (5 fr. piece) and of " pistoles " (10 francs). We 
often say "louis" for 20 francs; 5 louis = 100 francs, etc. 

"Livre. " — Instead of speaking of grammes always, we still 
like to say " une livre " (500 gr.) ; " une demi-livre " (250 gr.) ; 
" un quart de livre " (or simply : " un quart "). The "quintal " 
(formerly 100 livres) is sometimes counted as 50 kg., but more 
generally as 100 kg. (" quintal metrique "). 

— 146 — 



MfiURTHE-ET-MOSELLE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

In all these cases, the terms have survived, but their actual 
meanings have become metric (the same applies to "tonne ") ; see 
table in front of the volume. 

The D. M. System is now adopted in Austria, Belgium, Ger- 
many, Greece, Holland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, 
and Switzerland. It is legal, but not' really used as yet, in India, 

■ Books recommended. — Annuaire (Year-book) of the Bureau des Longitudes 
(Gauthier-Villars, i fr.). 

Crichton (F. A.), The Metric System and English Equivalents (Oakley, 1906). — 
The Metric System (Hughes Academy Belfast, 1913). 

MEURTHE-ET -MOSELLE. — This Department is all that is 
left us of Lorraine (see : Alsace-Lorraine). Its total length is 
86 miles, and its width varies from 5 to 61 miles. Its general 
shape is that of a triangle prolonged northwards by a strip of ter- 
ritory, the Briey district. It is one of our smallest Departments, 
its total area being only 2,038 sq. miles. 

It adjoins Alsace-Lorraine in the E. ; Luxemburg and 
Belgium in the N. ; and the Departments of Meuse in the W. 
and Vosges in the S. 

It is fairly hilly, the altitude varying between 560 and 3,000 feet. 
It comprises 5 geological regions : i. Vosges, of hard " Vosgian " 
sandstone : 2. N. and N.-W. of Vosges, shell-chalk, divided from 
Vosgian sandstone by a strip of variegated sandstone ; 3. some 
wooded hills, East of Nancy, consisting of many-coloured clay, 
over beds of chalk ; 4. triassic soil (chalk, clay, and quartz) over 
practically the whole of Nancy arrondissement ; 5. oolithic forms 
the " Pays-Haut" (High Land) — a plateau extending to the 
Ardennes — as well as the Toul and Briey arrondissements. 

The main features of the relief are the two great valleys of the 
Meurthe and Moselle, and the extensive, monotonous, and fertile 
plain of the Woevre. The two valleys are characteristic : the 
rivers are lined with meadows ; then the gentle slope is covered 
with ploughed fields ; above these are vineyards, and higher still 
the woods. 

The rivers, besides Moselle and Meurthe, are the sluggish 
Seille (130 kil.), and the active Orne (86 kil.), and some minor 
streams. Ponds are numerous in the forest N. W. of Toul. 

The climate is harsh, and variable, but fairly dry. It is warmer 
than in the Vosges, especially in the W. of the Department, 
where grapes ripen 8 or 10 days sooner than in the eastern 
portion (see Climate). Snow seldom begins before November, and 
may still be on the ground in April. 

A feature of the Department is the importance of its forests; 
27 are extensive, 10 of them have an area of over 40,000 acres 
each. The most common trees are, in order : oaks, horn-beams, 
beeches, and firs. 

- 147 — 



MEURTHE-ET-MOSELLE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

Agriculture. — In 1900, the department numbered 51,000 horses, 
94,000 head of cattle, 108,000 sheep, 100,000 pigs, 13,000 goats, 
and 18,000 bee-hives. 

Grain alone yields a revenue of about 8 million dollars a year 
(£ 1,600,000). In 1906, its main crops were: wheat: 515,000 
bushels, barley : 33 times less, oats : 200,000 bushels more. Pota- 
toes, in 1900, gave 2 million cwt., beet -roots, one million and a 
half; clover: 208,000 cwt.; lucerne: 250,000; trefoil: 96,000; 
hay : over i million ; sugar-beet : 8,000 ; tobacco : 5,000 ; hops : 
4,500 ; plums : 81,000, walnuts : 1,342 cwt. 

Oolithic soil is best for the vine, hence the excellent vineyards 
about Toul ; the wines of Bouillonville, Arnaville, Thiaucourt, 
Bruley, are the best known. The vintage of 1900 yielded 8 mil- 
lion gallons, a return of about 5 million dollars. 

Industry. — Meurthe-et-Moselle possesses important beds of 
iron-ore, the three centres being Nancy, Briey, and Longwy ; the 
output in 1913 was 20 million tons of ore, 9/10 of total France. 
(See page 151.) It is our premier Department in the production of 
cast-iron (i mill, tons in 1899), but depends largely for its coke on 
Germany. Other branches of metallurgy are active at Longwy, 
Pont-a-Mousson, Gorcy, Champigneulles, Nancy, and many other 
places. Six million tons of steel and cast-iron were produced in 

1913. 

Salt is a very important product of the soil here. Beds of 
rock-salt extend all about Nancy and Luneville, and have been 
exploited ever since the 7th century : 629,000 tons in 1906, a 
value of 8,500,000 francs. 

Six factories of ceramics (Luneville is the best known) employ 
1,800 workmen. Glass is manufactured in several places, espe- 
cially at the famous cut-glass works of Baccarat (founded 1766.) 

Other industries of note are : candles (Nancy, 400,000 kil.) ; 
matches (Blenod); tobacco (Nancy, 1,700 tons); gloves (Luneville, 
1,200 workers) ; leather (37 tanneries, 10 million francs) ; straw- 
hats (Nancy, etc., 1,000 workers) ; hats and caps (Toul, etc.); wool 
and cotton mills (Nancy, Tomblaine, Briey, etc.) ; sugar (Luneville, 
400 tons); boots, alcohol, etc. The fine printing-works of Berger- 
Levrault and Co., a model establishment, were transferred from 
Strasbourg to Nancy in 1871 (over 400 workers). 

Communications, within the limits of Meurthe-et-Moselle, are : 
20 railway lines, with a total length of 582 kilometres. 
National roads, 450 kil. 

Departmental roads, 4-555 kil. 

Other roads, 5.058 kil. 

Waterways, 487 kil. 

The total population, in 1911, was 564,730 inhabitants ; the 
political divisions are 4 arrondissements : Briey, Luneville, 
Nancy, Toul, which include 29 cantons, consisting of 598 com- 
munes. The "chef -lieu" is Nancy, with a population of 110,600 inh. 



MEURTHE-ET-MOSELLE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

Arrondissements. Cantons. 

Briey . . . Audun-le-Roman, Briey, Chambley, Conflans, 

Longuyon, Longwy. 
' Lun:£ville. Arracourt, Baccarat, Badonviller, Bayon, Bla- 

mont, Cirey, Gerbeviller, Luneville (N. 

and S.). 
Nancy. . . Haroue, Nancy (E., N., W., and S., ), Nomeny, 

Pont-a-Mousson, Saint-Nicolas, Vezelise. 
TouL. . . . Colombey-les-Belles, Domevre-en-Haye, Thiau- 

court, Toul (N. and S.). 

Population of certain places. — Auboue, 2,388 ; Baccarat, 7,000 ; 
Badonviller, 1,900 ; Bayon, 1,250; Bert rich amps, 1,078; Blain- 
ville, 1,600 ; Blamont, 1,600 ; Blenod-les-Pont-a-Mousson, 1,600 ; 
Blenod-les-Toul, 1,100; Bouxieres-aux-Dames, 1,122; Briey, 
2,630; Chaligny, 1,528; Champigneulles, 3,544; Chavigny, 1,243 ; 
Cosnes-et-Romain, 1,184; Custines, 1,143; Dieulouard, 2,400; 
Ecrouves, 8,700 ; Essey-les-Nancy, 1,086 ; Foug, 1,232 ; Frouard, 
4,180; Gerbeviller, 1,575 ; Gorcy,i,i24; Gondreville, 1,264; Herse- 
range, 1,498 ; Hussigny-Godbrange, 3,200 ; Jarville, 3,700 ; Joeuf, 
7,300; Landres, 1,600 ; Laneuveville, 2,183 ; Lay-Sain t-Christophe, 
1,143 > Liverdun, 1,600; Longuyon,3,25o; Longwy, 10,000; Ludres, 
1,200; Luneville, 24,300 ; Malzeville, 3,400 ; Marbache, 1,100 ; 
Maxeville, 2,700 ; Mont-Saint-Martin, 3,290 ; Moutiers, 1,300 ; 
Nomeny, 1,300; Pagny-sur-Moselle, 2,100; Pexonne, 1,100; 
Pompey, 3,100; Pont-a-Mousson, 13,500; Pont-Saint-Vincent, 
2,400 ; Saint-Nicolas, 5,732 ; Saint-Max, 2,400 ; Saulnes, 2,200 ; 
Tantonville, 1,006 ; Thil, 2,900 ; Tomblaine, 1,400 ; Toul, 13,700 ; 
Val-et-Chatillon, 1,700; Tucquegnieux, 1,100; Vandoeuvre, 2,600; 
Varangeville, 2,500 ; Vezelise, 1,300 ; Villerupt, 6,600. 

Among the many notable men and women who were born in 
Meurthe-et-Moselle, may be mentioned : Saint Loup, bishop of 
Troyes, born Toul, died 478 ; went to England, with Saint 
Germain, there to fight the Pelagian heresy — he it was who 
saved Troyes from Attila. Margaret of Anjou, who became 
Queen of England, and was the heroine of the War of the two 
Roses, was born at Pont-a-Mousson in 1429 ; Callot, the great 
engraver, Nancy, 1593; Clodion the sculptor, Nancy, 1738; 
IsABE Y the portrait-painter, Nancy, 1 767 ; Grandville the carica- 
turist, Nancy, 1803. Among the soldiers, who have been plen- 
tiful on this border-territory : Claude de Lorraine, the ancestor 
of the Guise family ; General Haxo, who fought the Vendee 
(1750-1794) ; another Haxo, who took Antwerp (1774-1838) 
Stofflet, a royalist general (i 750-1 796) ; Gouvion-Saint-Cyr 
Field-Marshal and War-Secretary under Louis XVIII ( 1 764-1 830) 
Marshal Duroc, Duke of Frioul ; Drouot, one of the best men of 
Napoleon (1774-1847) ; Admiral de Rigny, who commanded our 
fleet at Navarin (1783-1835). Etc. 



MINERALS 

Books recommended. — Meurthe-et-MoselU (P. Joanne, i £r.). — Imbeaux, Le\ 
eaux potables en Meurthe-et-Moselle (Beranger). — H. Joly, La Geologie ei les formes 
du terrain dans la region lorraine (lectures to officers) (Berger-Levrault, i fr. 50). — 
G. Maugras, La Cour de Luneville au XVIII'' siecle (Won, 7 fr. 50). — Pawlowski, he 
Nouveau Bassin minier de Meurthe-et-Moselle (Berger-Levrault, 3 fr.). 

See also : Information. 



MINERALS. — Just before the war, France produced about 
40 million tons of Coal, and bought 22 from : England (11), 
Germany (6), and Belgium (5). 




- 150 - 



MINERALS 

Two thirds of our supply, and the best quahty, come from 
the North ; but coal lies deeper there than in English mines. 



aSuA. 



World's production of coal. 
U.K. 



Other 
Germany Austn Fr. Belg. Countries 



38% 28% 19% 5% 4% 2,2% 3,8% 

Coal Production. 1901-1905 (Yearly average). 



GROUPS 


BASINS 


I.OOO 

METRIC TONS 


NoRD & Pas-de- 
Calais 

Loire 


Boulonnais and 
Valenciennes 

St-Etienne & three more 

Alais & two more 

Decize & three more 

Carmaux & three more 
Commentry & three more 


20.965 
3.601 

1-954 

1. 881 

1.770 
994 


Gard 

Burgundy 

Tarn et Avey- 
ron 


BOURBONNAIS . . 



Important beds had bee^n found shortly before the war, in 
Normandy, and about Lyons. A German company had bought 
sites in Normandy for the opening of mines, and the creation of a 
special harbour ! 

The Sarre valley (now in German Lorraine), which was French 
until 18 1 5, and the mines of which were originally discovered and 
opened by Frenchmen, was turning out 20 million tons in 1914. 

Iron. — Lorraine contains huge deposits of excellent iron ore ; 
all are in German hands at present, either through the annexa- 
tions of 1 87 1, or late occupation (Briey). The annual output of 
the territory lost in 1871 is 21 million tons. 

Rich deposits have been discovered lately in Normandy 
(700 million tons of ore, giving 50 %, the best Lorraine yielding 
42 %) ; also in Brittany, and Anjou. Old mines exist at Le Creu- 
sot, Montlu9on, Saint-Etienne, Bourges, and in E. Pyrenees and 
Dauphine. France should become after this war the great iron 
reserve of Europe : lowest estimates : 10 billion tons of iron-ore, 



— ni — 



MONTMARTRE 

We have small mines of : 

Copper, about Lyons ; Lead, in Auvergne ; Gold, in the West, 

Bai'xite (aluminium) is plentiful in Provence. 

Building materials are more plentiful and varied than metals. 
There is Granite in Brittany, etc. ; Sandstone in the Vosges ; 
Marble in the Pyrenees ; Slate in Anjou and Ardennes ; Limestone 
below and about Paris, etc. 

Kaolin feeds the porcelain industries of Limoges. Salt- Works 
exist in Jura and the Vosges, Salt-Marshes on the western and 
Mediterranean coasts. 

Our mineral springs, thermal or otherwise, are numberless. 
There are three in Paris alone ; Perrier is a spring in Lower 
Languedoc (See : Thermal stations). 

Another mineral resource is the one which we call " houille 
blanche " (white coal) — so named by A. Berges, who first built 
a hydraulic factory in 1869 — i.e. the hydraulic power from 
waterfalls. Many of our mountain villages have better and 
cheaper light than Paris, owing to the local torrent. The Midi 
Railway will shortly be electric throughout, thanks to the proxi- 
mity of the Pyrenees. This war, by reducing our coal output 
by 50 %, has induced our engineers to use white coal to an 
unprecedented extent ; and white coal has come to stay. 
" Green coal," the force of even-flowing rivers, is also used (in 
Normandy, etc.), but not so generally as it might be. 

Our total water-power is estimated at 8 or 9 million horse- 
power, equivalent to 80 or 90 million tons of coal annually. 
We used i million H.P. in 1917, 750,000 in 1914. 

Our mining engineers come from the " Ecoles superieures des 
Mines " of Paris, and Saint-Etienne. 

Books recommended. — A. de Lapparent, Traiie de geologie. Leans de Geo- 
graphic physique (Masson\ — De La,.nay, La science geologigue (Colin). — La conqwte 
mineral'. (Flammarion.) — A. Lacroix, Miniralogie de 1% France et de ses colonies 
(Baudry). — Works of Martel; and Catalogue of Beranger, Paris. 

See also : Information. 

MONTMARTRE. — About 30 years ago Montmartre was one of 
the curiosities of Paris. Its hill comprised at the time three dis- 
tinct regions. 

The summit was a place of pilgrimage, as it is at present, 
and has been for ages. The faithful visited two churches, and a 
Calvary. One church is the Holy Heart, a large new basilica, 
built in the Byzantine style ; its cupolas and white towers look 
strangely Eastern. The other church is the ancient parish-church 
of Montmartre, erected on the site of former temples to Mercury, 
and Mars, from which the holy hill was called Montem Mercuri, 
and Montem Martis, before it was called, in honour of the first 
Parisian martyrs, Montem Martyrum. The religion changed, 



MUSIC 

but the name still sounded much the same. The Calvary comes 
from the summit of Mont Valerien (W. of Paris). Around those 
centres of worship, small shops offering pious books and statues, 
rosaries, and tapers ; old houses, very poor and very provincial ; 
narrow streets, hard to climb, and run to weeds, composed the 
little city, which has not quite disappeared yet. 

Lower down, comes the " Butte " itself, with its very steep 
sides, some of which can be climbed only by flights of steps. 
This again was a very calm area, the houses were poor and small ; 
working people filled its winding streets morning and evening, 
on their way to or from Paris, but peace reigned supreme all day 
in that little accessible region. 

Further down still, come the gentle slopes extending from the 
Place Clichy and the Place Pigalle to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. 
This was the merry youthful Montmartre, inhabited by artists 
and pretty girls, which soon became famous. In 1881, a man call- 
ed Salis, a wise Bohemian, asked some artists to come and crack 
their jokes in his establishment, instead of talking amongst 
themselves ; they assented, and the " Chat Noir " was founded. 
Other " cafes " and " brasseries " promptly followed suit, and 
attracted first the snobs, then the bourgeois, then the provincials, 
then foreigners. As they were more and more frequented, the 
local flavour, and the masonic understanding between guests 
and hosts, had to disappear. The fame of the establishments grew 
as their original life receded from them. Montmartre, the Mont- 
martre which has a reputation all over the world, lived from 1880 
to 1895 ; it is now extinct, save in the memory of men. 

A young poilu was writing, not very long ago, to M. Wil- 
lette, one of the artists who made old Montmartre : " Say, father 
Pierrot, you'll give us back Montmartre after the war, just as 
it was to you twenty years ago. " But M. Willette is much too 
wise not to know that what is past is past for ever. The more 
accessible parts of Montmartre are now built with six-storied 
houses, where artists have no particular reasons to live ; the 
establishments still running in that region are businesses pure 
and simple ; Bohemia knows them not. . . Indeed Parisian Bohemia 
has no home to-day ; it is individualistic, and elusive. 

Books recommended. — A.Warnod, Le Vieux Montmartre. Bals, cafes, cabarets 
(Figuiere, 3 fr. 50 each). • — H. Sellier, Montmartre. 

MUSIC — The Celts are musical, and we had bards before we 
could build. Yet it is sometimes said of us that we owe what 
music we have to Italy and Germany. 

Now it is quite true that the French are more especially endowed 
with what Matthew Arnold called " a direct sense of the visible, 
palpable world " ; true again that, as a nation, we have never 
enjoyed melody for its own sake to the same extent as the Italians, 
laor harmony for its own sake to the same extent as the Germans, 

— 153 — 



MUSIC 

But from this to infer that we have no music in us is to go past the 
mark. The fact that we did learn so much from our neighbours 
proves that we appreciate music, while the fact that we refused to 
learn " too much " is evidence that we will not depart from a 
particular sort of music, namely our own. We have a music ; 
but it is like ourselves, precise and moderate ; it is, like all our 
activities, subject to reason. Of that temperate, sensible, intelli- 
gent music, we have produced a considerable amount, which all 
Europe has enjoyed. 

Thus much being suggested, and, we hope, granted, it must be 
admitted that " reasonable " music is not fully musical. The 
sounds used by man for purposes of self-expression range from 
the cry of the child — the instinctive inarticulate assertion of 
some physical condition — , to scientific combinations of voices 
and instruments, adapted to the deepest emotions and the most 
elusive moods and fancies. Between those extremes lies articu- 
late speech, the discussion of familiar or definable phenomena ; 
poetry hovering between speech and music, the highest poetry 
being often nearer to the latter, clamouring, in fact, one might 
say, for absorption into music... 

Now the French, as a nation, prefer the more definite modes of 
expression. A drama like King Lear is not congenial to us; still 
more does a symphony " plague and embitter our apprehension ". 
With us, save in quite recent times, speech always had to remain 
within the limits of the demonstrable, and music be the handmaid 
of speech or action, in song, drama, or dance. 

As a consequence, our music has developed exactly on the same 
lines as our literature : our popular tunes in the xiiith century 
corresponding with the popular mystery-plays of the time ; our 
complicated madrigals of the xvith with the elaborate ballads of 
our Renaissance ; the solemn music of LuUi with the rise of our 
classical stage ; the discoveries of Rameau in harmony, with the 
work of our Encyclopedists ; the "Marseillaise ' with the oratory 
of the Revolution... Only of late years has the full liberation of 
genius from the tastes of a class allowed poetry and music to part 
both from " literature " and from each other. Music has now 
asserted its particular method and mission. However, the 
change is more noticeable in the quality of the music produced 
than in the numbers of those who appreciate it. Music is after all 
the youngest of the arts, in France as elsewhere, and the least 
accessible. We still have twenty theatres to one concert-hall, 
and most Frenchmen, like most Europeans, could say, in the 
words of Lamb : " Those insufferable concertos... Words are 
something ; but to be exposed to an endless battery of mere 
sounds ; to gaze on empty frames and be forced to make the pic- 
tures for yourself ; to read a book, all stops , and be obliged to 
supply the verbal matter ; to invent extempore tragedies to 
answer to the vague gestures of an inexplicable rambling 
niime... " 

- 154 - 



MUSIC 

Our music in the Middle-Ages possessed two widely different 
traditions; one was liturgical, and originated mainly from the Gre- 
gorian plain-song introduced from Italy by Charlemagne in 787. 
The other was that of our ministrels, who sang their poems to 
^hort melodies and lively rhythms ; its inspiration was popular, 
clear and simple. Between 1200 and 1600, both schools improved 
a good deal in technique, mainly owing to Belgium and Italy, 
and quite independently from each other. Yet, with the decline 
of Gothic art, and of mysticism, secular music began to invade 
the churches, in the form of hymns, many of which were just 
popular tunes of the time. 

The Renaissance, and Italy, provided us with an abundance of 
graceful original part-songs, as varied and full of life as the short 
lyrics of the period, but music did not reach real depth and breadth 
before the rise of our classical drama, and the " organization 
of the fine arts by Louis XIV. 

XVIIth century. — The Italians had kept ahead of us, in music 
as in painting ; it was therefore an Italian, Lulli, whom Louis 
called to Versailles. Lulli was an accomplished musician, and fully 
deserved to be the guide of our artists. As a result of his teach- 
ing, and of the development of our stage, Cambert, a French- 
man, gave us our first " operas " , while Campra, an Italian, cre- 
ated our "opera-ballet" (similar to the masque), of which Louis 
was very fond. The favourite instruments of our xviith century 
were the harpsichord, the organ, and the violin. 

Through the XVIIIth century, the French disciples of Lulli pro- 
duced innumerable melodies for the light operas, dances, and 
" romances " of their age ; their best compositions were those 
intended for the harpsichord ; their music was always elegant, 
sometimes witty, often shallow, partaking of the worldly, super- 
ficial, happy manner of the social life of those days. Two men 
rose shoulder-high above that clever host. One was Gluck, 
the Haendel of France, a German by birth, who had made France 
his home, and had been taught mostly by Italy and France. 
His pathetic sincere music was perfectly adapted to the noble 
themes and solemn tone of our classical dramas ; his recitatives 
show that he had studied Bach, while his arias, though Italian in 
construction, are free from the Italian roulades. Greater than he 
was Jean Rameau, the first French classic, who innovated so 
much, especially in harmony, that he seemed to his contempo- 
raries to have re-invented music. He produced his first opera 
in 1733, at the age of 50 (" Hippolyte et Aricie") ; twenty more 
were to follow which were received with great favour ; but the 
bent of Rameau was toward higher forms of music. The cen- 
tury ended, and our music declined, with Gr6try, M^hul, 
and Lesueur. In 1793, the " Convention " created our "Conser- 
vatoire National de Musique ", a high school of music in Paris ; 
it is supported by the State, and is entered by competitive ex£^,- 

^155 - 



MUSIC 

mination ; the students who take the first places in the final 
examination are appointed to the "Opera" "and " Opera- 
Comique ". 

In the XlXth century, French music prospered as abundantly 
and in as many directions as French literature. A ' Romantic ' 
school began with BoiELDiEu, (1775-1834), Auber, and Harold ; 
asserted its power with Meyerbeer (" Les Huguenots", " Le 
Prophete " ) ; culminated with Berlioz, who had genius (" La 
Damnation de Faust "j, and Bizet, (" Carmen" ," L'Arlesienne") ; 
then declined with Lalo and Delibes. 

Semi-classical tradition was maintained by A. Thomas, who 
once ruled the stage (" Hamlet " , " Mignon ") , and Gounod, a 
Southerner who seldom departed from shallow perfection and 
smoothness, and whose inspiration was often mystical (" Faust ", 
•'Mors et Vita "). 

Offenbach, a German established in Paris, provided the Second 
Empire with " opereties " that may be regarded as models of their 
kind. Reyer ("Sigurd") was a brilliant disciple of Wagner, and 
his only imitator inFrance. Massenet (1842-1912) was, and still 
is extremely popular ; his art is perfectly adapted to our stage. 

Greater by far than any of the foregoing was C6sarFranck( 1822- 
1890), a Belgian by birth, who lived in Paris as organist and teacher 
in girls' schools, and produced in utter obscurity the finest music 
composed since Beethoven ("Les Beatitudes", "Redemption", 
"Psyche" ). Like Berlioz, he expresses but himself; but while 
Berlioz is torn by the bitter passions of this world, Franck is filled 
with religious rapture ; his art combines innocent, unclouded bliss, 
infinite tenderness, with a most vigorous, modern, personal tech- 
nique. From him has proceeded the present movement in favour 
of pure music ; his foremost disciple has been M. Vincent 
d'Indy, composer, critic, and leader, the Frenchman who has 
worked hardest and best in the interests of our music, and our 
musicians. 

Some of the new talents however have followed in the footsteps 
of Debussy, an able technician and original composer, who 
has revolutionized the technique of his art. (" Pelleas et Meli- 
sande", 1902.) 

Other notable musicians still living or recently dead, are : 
Bordes, a friend of M. Vincent d'Indy, who revived religious 
song and our composers of the Renaissance ; Bruneau, who 
interpreted with more power than approval the poetry concealed 
under Zola's realism ; Chabrier, an original temperament, 
brimming over with life ; Chausson, a most refined and sensitive 
artist, who died prematurely in 1899 ; M. Duparc the first 
student of Franck ; M. Dukas (" Ariane " et " Barhe-Bleue ", 
1905) a disciple of Debussy; M. D. de Severac, follower of 
M. d'Indy; M. Saint-Saens (born 1835), a master of technique, 
who has achieved success in every branch of his art ; M. Char- 

-156- 



Napoleon 

PENTiER, who described popular life in Paris (" Louise '', 1906) • 
GuiLMANT and M. Widor, organists and composers, etc. 

Homage should be paid here to one of our ablest young musi- 
cians, Alb^ric Magnard (the composer of "Berenice "), who was 
killed by the Germans in 191 4 in the following manner. He was 
still in Paris, not yet mobilized, when the Germans began to invade 
France. He made up his mind that they should not enter his 
home in the country as long as he was alive. When he reached 
his family house, in the neighbourhood of the Marne, the French 
had- already retreated beyond it ; he was alone between our troops 
and the Uhlans. When the first Uhlans appeared, he fired at 
them from his window. After a short siege, he was killed, and 
his house was burnt down. 

Books recommended. — Lavoix, La Musigue Franeaise (Quantin, 1890). 

Vincent d'Indy, Cesar Franck (Mean, 3 fr. 50). — P. Lasserre, L'Esprit de la 
musigue fraiifaise, Payot). 

Daly (W. H.), Debussy. A Study in Modern Music (Simpson, Edinburgh, 1908) 

NAPOLEON (Napoleone Buonaparte, later : Napoleon Bona- 
parte), was born in the Corsican town of Ajaccio, on August 15, 
1769, only just one year after the addition of Corsica to the 
French Realm. 

1779. At the Cadet-School of Brienne, as a bursar. 

1784. Sent up by his masters to the Cadet-School of Paris. 

1785. Second Lieutenant in the Artillery, at La FSre. 

1793. Fights an old friend of his family, Paoli, who wants to hand 
over Corsica to the English. Paoli wins. The Buonaparte 
family must flee from Corsica, and remain stranded at Marseilles 
in utter poverty. 

The same year. Major Buonaparte takes in a few days the 
harbour of Toulon, and is promoted to General. 

1795-96. Lives in Paris; employed on General Staff work. Seeing 
no possibility of further promotion, thinks of speculating on 
land, or trading in Constantinople... Studies social and poli- 
tical life. Marries. Is at last appointed Commander of the 
Home Forces. Quenches a rebellion in Paris, by using artil- 
lery against the mob. 

1796-97. In command of the Italian expedition ; crosses the Alps 
and defeats Austrian army twice as numerous as his. More 
men are sent to him ; he defeats three other armies and their 
reinforcements. In ten months, with 55,000 men in all, he 
routs 200,000 Austrians, wins 12 great battles (among them 
Lodi, Arcole, Rivoli), obtains for France the whole of Belgium 
and the left bank of the Rhine, and makes Italy a free repub- 
lic. Meanwhile some troops sent by him from Livourne 
deliver Corsica from the English. 

— 157 — 



Napoleoi^ 



1798. England remaining the only foe of France and the Revolu- 
tion, N. directs an attack against her in the East. Conquers 
Egypt. But the Fr. fleet is destroyed at Aboukir, and N. is 
checked in Syria. He destroys a Turkish army landed at 
Aboukir by the English, and — 

1799. — returns to France, whose internal and external situation 
is critical again, leaving Kleber in charge of Egypt. 

The English are defeated in Holland by Brune, and the Rus- 
sians in Switzerland by Massena. Yet the situation remains 
ominous. 

On Nov. gth (i8 Brumaire), Bonaparte breaks up Parliament, 
and issues a new Constitution: the "Direcioire" is replaced by 
three " Consuls ", appointed for lo years, of whom N. is 
"Premier " . His first move is to sue for peace, which is refused. 

1800. He crosses the Alps again, and defeats the Austrians at 
Marengo. 

1801. Austria signs peace at Campo-Formio. 

1802. Meanwhile the army in Egypt, Kleber having been 
murdered, is captured. England has no further anxieties 

, about India, and feels the strain on her purse : she signs peace 
at Amiens. Our Colonies are returned to us. Fr.has regained 
at the time her natural frontiers and all her Colonies. N. can 
re-organize the country. He recalls the exiled Royalists, re- 
establishes the Catholic Church (but under certain conditions : 
" Concordat "j, organizes the Departments by instituting " pre- 
fets " (see Political organisation), creates Courts of Appeal, 

■ the 'Code Napoleon" , the Bank of France, the Legion of 
Honour, and the national system of education called the 
" Universite de France " . Peace, order, pros- 
perity, cause the nation almost to forget that 
the Republic is no more... After several 
attempts on his life, he is appointed " Consul 
for Life " (1802). 

1804. The English, slow to execute the treaty 
of Amiens, open hostilities without previous 
declaration of war. They also contrive a 
plot against Napoleon's life. The Senate pro- 
claims him " Empereur Herediiaire " ; he is 
yet childless. He prepares an invasion of 
England from Boulogne, but fails to obtain 
mastery of the sea. Villeneuve, after a slight 
defeat by Calder, allows himself to be bottled 
up in Cadiz. N. at once turns his attention to 
the Continent. Italy being yet unfit for repu- 
blican life, and too weak to resist Austria unaid- 
ed, N. becomes King of Italy, his brother Joseph ha viiig refused 
the crown. The stepson of N. is made Viceroy. N. directs the 
foreign affairs of Switzerland , and has Swiss regiments in his armies, 

— 158 — 




Napoleon, in 1804 

From the Corona- 
tion scene by David 
(Louvre Museum). 



NAPOLEON 

1805. English gold and diplomacy raise a new Coalition : Swedes 
and Russians advance through Hanover; Russians and 
Austrians along the Danube; Austrians through N. Italy; 
Russians, Eng., and Neapolitans, in S. Italy. N. ignores the 
first and last groups, opposes 50,000 men to the 80,000 Austrians 

. in Lombardy, and marches against the Danube army. He cuts 
off the army of General Mack (80,000) from the great Russian 
army and the Austrian reserves, and besieges Mack in Ulm. 
The city surrenders after 13 days. The campaign had lasted 
3 weeks (Villeneuve is defeated again, at Trafalgar, by Nelson). 
N. enters Vienna, and, with 60,000 men, defeats the main 
Austro-Russian force at Austerlitz (2 Dec). Prussia and Austria 
sue for peace. 

1806. Central Europe is re-organized : Prussia loses all territories 
along the Rhine; Austria, all territories in Italy. The 
Confederation of the Rhine, a sort of German U. S., with 
N. as " Protecteur " , constitutes a neutral, semi-independent 
area between France, Russia, and Austria, the great military 
powers of the time. Joseph becomes king of Naples. The 
Batavian Commonwealth disappears, Louis Bonaparte becomes 
king of Holland. But England, nothing daunted, raises a new 
Coalition. Two Prussian armies are defeated at Jena and 
Auerstaedt in eleven days. N. enters Berlin. Hear'ng that the 
Russians are coming to the rescue of Prussia, he proceeds to 
Poland, beats the Russians five times on the Vistula, defeats 
them again at Eylau, and crushes them finally at Friedland. 
Russia sues for peace. 

1807. Treaty of Tilsitt : Prussia had 9 million subjects ; she is 
reduced to 5. On the contrary, Russia receives Finland : 
N. wishes to secure the help of Russia against England, 
especially in the matter of the Continental Blockade. That 

. boycot by Europe of all English goods and shipping had been 

. initiated by N. in 1806. It lasted 7 years, and could not be 

enforced without war and diplomatic pressure. Therefore : — ■ 

1808. — the King of Portugal is sent into exile. The King of Spain 
is replaced by Joseph, Murat taking Joseph's place at Naples; 
the Spaniards take arms, and defeat Dupont at Beylen. N. 
hastens to Spain and conquers. But Austria then rises again; 
N. crosses over to Austria, defeats the Archduke 5 times, and 
takes Ratisbon ; enters Vienna a second time, and crosses the 
Danube. • After a defeat at Essling, he wins Wagram. Peace 
of Vienna. 

1809. He is then at the height of his power. Holland and the 
Pope having been too lax in enforcing the blockade, he 
dismisses his brother Louis from the Dutch throne, and makes 
the Pope prisoner. France has 130 " departements " , with 
100 million inhabitants. The Kings of Spain, Naples, West, 
phalia, are the brothers of the Emperor; the Kings of Bavaria 

- 159 — 



NAPOLEON 

Wurtemberg, Saxony, and many more, are his vassals. ISfo 
European, since Cliarlemagne, had wielded such power. 

N. then originates an imperial nobility ; and, divorcing his 
wife, by whom he had no child still, marries the daughter of 
the Austrian Emperor. 

1811. A son is born to him. He calls him " King of Rome ". 
Rome! Absolute power, universal peace through military 
supremacy, unity under one master, those dreams of all Euro- 
pean conquerors, the Roman eagle, the Roman law, haunt 
the mind of the Mediterranean soldier and law-giver... Yet, 
that very year, his weakest but justly unrelenting enemy, Spain, 
rises against him again. The English of course assist the 
Spaniards. 300,000 Fr. troops easily defeat the Spaniards in set 
encounters, but the latter give up regular fighting, and the 
whole country becomes a death-trap. That war was to hold 
the giant by the heel for 5 years. 

1812. For several reasons, one of which is the obstinate diplo- 
macy of England, another the excessive power of N., the Czar 
becomes less friendly. N. is hurt, and Alexander declares 
war upon him. He defeats the Russians at first ; they withdraw 
slowly ; he enters Moscow ; they set it on fire ; Alexander refuses 
terms of peace offered. Winter sets in. N. is forced to 
withdraw in his turn. The terrible and famous retreat from 
Russia reduces his " Grande Avmee " of over 600,000 French, 
Germans, Swiss, Spaniards, Italians, Dutch, etc., to 
30,000 men. 

1813. Ever since Jena (1807) Prussia had been working hard a 
raising and driUing a great army, on a new model. Prussia, with 
only 5 million people, throws against us a splendid force of 
250,000 men, filled with a passion for revenge and national 
freedom. The Emperor rapidly enlists the boys of France (no 
men were left), and defeats the Prussians 3 times, at Lutzen, 
Bautzen, and Dresden. But Austria joins in, and the Russians, 
still unbeaten, come to her help. 300,000 Austro-Russians are 
defeated by the 130,000 men of N. at Leipzig, after three days' 
uninterrupted fighting; but the French are exhausted. As 
practically every nation on the Continent was represented in 
that battle, it has been called the " Bataille des Nations ". 
N. retreats to France, all Germany rising behind him, and 
reinforcing the ranks of the armies at his heels. 

1814. France is invaded. In spite of marvellous strategy, 
marches, and tactics, and three incredible victories, Paris is 
taken ! This is almost a relief to France, who cannot stand 
the pace any longer, and N. is declared fallen from the throne. 
A few days later, he accepts his fate (he had attempted suicide), 
and abdicates in favour of his son (April 18 14). 

He is exiled to Elba, Louis XVIII, a brother of Louis XVI, 
takes his place. The King's rule is unpopular. N. hears of it. 

— 160 — 



NAPOLEON 

1815. N. escapes from Elba (an island off the coast of Italy), 
lands in the S. of France, and finds support at once, from his 
former officers and soldiers. Enters Pans, with his Guard, on 
March 20th. His prestige, the suddenness of his resurrection, 
his proclamation of liberal measures, the fact that the old King 
is but the nominee of obsolete enemy monarchies, inspire with 
fear or hope many who dislike the man. But the diplomats of 
Europe, still planning at Vienna the fate of " Europe well rid 
of the Ogre ", are dumbfounded and indignant. In vain does 
N. promise to be peaceful, and grant a new Constitution to 
France, by which he will relinquish part of his power : the 
"Allies" will not have him, and his French opponents soon 
rally against him. He levies an army with incredible speed, 
and proceeds to Belgium ; by war and victory alone can he hope 
to regain the confidence of the French, and save his dynasty. 
He beats the Prussians at Fleurus, but is defeated at 
Waterloo by the Anglo-Prussians (June 18; I2y, 000 " Allies " 
against 74,000 French). 

He abdicates again at Fontainebleau. The whole marvellous 
adventure had lasted just about 100 days {" les Cent-Jours "). 
N. first thought of sailing to America, but the seas were English. 
He therefore threw himself on the mercy of England. He was 
interned at Saint-Helena, where he died in 1821. 

His ashes were brought to France, and laid under the dome 
of the Invalides, in 1840. 

When they thought him mad. — Napoleon was the great- 
est man of action, and perhaps the greatest man absolutely, that 
ever lived. His greatness is but seldom realized even now. Here 
is a slight instance of his mental powers, at a time when some 
historians have maintained that he had grown mentally slow. 

It was in February 1814 ; Wellington was invading the South, 
while Austrians, Prussians, Bavarians, and Russians, poured in 
from the North and East ; Napoleon had only a handful of men 
left him, against 360,000 allies. He gave at the time the most 
extraordinary orders : either madly audaciousi or carrying imagin- 
ary numbers, far superior to the actual available forces. A 
whisper ran among his generals, that the great man had gone 
mad... 

" General Ricard, in particular, had been commanded to stand, 
with a Division reduced to 1,800 men, and with his back to the 
Seine, away from any possible reinforcements, right in the way 
of the enormous invading forces. When he read those instruc- 
tions, he could not help exclaiming : " But it is true, then, that 
he has lost his head ! " And he hurried to G. H. Q. — There he 
met Berthier, the A. D. C, and told him how impossible the orders 
were. Berthier rephed that such were the orders, that he knew 
no more ; that he would certainly not venture to place Ricard's 
objections before the Emperor ; but that Ricard naight do so if 

SAILLENS = 161 —«■ J I 



NAPOLEON 

he chose, Ricard asked to be heard, stated and explained his 
hesitation, and stood awaiting his answer, pained in advance 
at the mental decline which the answer was sure to reveal. Napo- 
leon put to him a few questions about the morale of the troops, 
which preoccupied him (the men began to desert in thousands 
shortly after), and then said : " This unpleasant moment will 
not last long ; reinforcements are coming ; sit down here, and 
write. " And at once, without any notes or reports, merely 
from memory, he dictated to him the names, strength, and compo- 
sition of nineteen detachments of all arms, which were to bring up 
his Division to a total of 6,550 men. He forgot neither the 
state of their armament and equipment, their marches, nor the 
dates on which they were to join Ricard. " Please read over, he 
said, and see if the total is correct. " It was. As to the position 
where he sent Ricard : " It must be occupied, he said ; an artillery- 
column is to pass there to-morrow, and may need help. I will 
send all these instructions to you before you have reached your 
camp. I am going to dictate them to Berthier. Take these notes 
with you, but go at once. " 

" Ricard was astounded, but still expected that the final instruc- 
tions might be somewhat different ; every figure and detail 
coincided. Then he thought that there might be errors in calcul- 
ation as to forthcoming events. But every detachment arrived, 
the artillery column passed by, the attack of the enemy was 
repulsed, exactly as the Emperor had foreseen. " (Comte de S6gur, 
Du Rhin a Fontainebleau.) 

A few thoughts of Napoleon. — From the moment when I 
became chief of the Government, my council was in my mind; 
I fared very well by it ; I began to make mistakes only 
when I listened to advisers. — It was not my soldiers who failed 
me ; it was I who failed my soldiers. — I have had three fine days 
in my life : Marengo, Jena, and Austerlitz, unless one wishes to 
include as a fourth one that day when I granted an audience to the 
Austrian Emperor in a ditch. — Numbers do not give victory. 
Alexander vanquished three hundred thousand Persians with 
twenty thousand Macedonians. Audacious undertakings have 
been especially favourable to me. — I made a mistake by not 
effacing Prussia from the map. — I hardly ever gave detailed 
instructions to my generals; I ordered them to vanquish. — The 
Prussians are bad soldiers; the English infantry did wonders 
at Waterloo. — Most of our Academicians are writers whom 
one admires with a yawn. — A true hero plays a game of chess 
after a battle won or lost. — I love the plain common-sense of 
the man in the street. — All nations need one another. — I made 
the mistake of my career in not removing the HohenzoUerns 
from the throne of Prussia when I had the opportunity. As long 
as this house reigns and until the red cap of liberty is erected in 
Germany, there will be no peace in Europe. — J arn the child of 

r— 162 



NOBILITY 

destiny. — I do not believe in medicine, but I believe in Corvisart 
(a famous doctor of his time). 

As Cardinal Fesch was adjuring him one evening, in 1811, to be 
more respectful of religion, and of men, preaching to him 
moderation in a word, Napoleon went to the window, opened it, 
and pointed to the sky : " Can you see that star ? " he said 
(meaning his own). — "No, Sire, I cannot. " — " Look again. " 

— "I do not see it, " replied the Cardinal again. — "Well, " replied 
Napoleon, "I do! " 

Books recommended. — Henri Houssaye, 1814-1815 (Perrin, 3 fr. 50). — 
Fred. Masson, Sur Napoleon ; Napoleon inconnu ; Napoleon et les femmes (Ollendorff). 

— Albert Vandal, LAvdnement de Bonaparte (Plon, 8 vol). — Philippe Gonnard, 
Origines de la Legende napoleonienne (Paris, 1908) (English translation). — Col. 
Vachee, Napoleon en campagne (Berger-Levrault, (4 fr.). 

Lord Rosebery, Napoleon. — Rose (J. H.), Life of Napoleon (2 vols, 21 s., 
G. Bell & Sons, 1915). — Ellison. Napoleon the Great (Biography Books, 1908). — 
Gould (S.B.), The Life of Napoleon (Methuen, 1908). —Fisher (H. A. L.), Bona- 
partism (Clarendon Press, 1908, 33.6 d.). 



NOBILITY. — It must be difficult for a foreigner, especially for 
an American, to understand exactly what a French duke or count 
can be, why we should still have them in this Republic of ours, 
and how it is possible, and can still pay among us, to be a pacha. 
The institution of our nobility is so ancient (we had nobles before 
Roman days), and its organization and composition are therefore 
so complex, that no statement of its evolution or present situation 
can be clear unless we start from a few simple data. 

I. La Fayette was a French nobleman; the analysis of his full 
name and title : Marie- Joseph Motier, marquis de La Fayette, 
illustrates some essential points : 

Marie-Joseph : the Christian names, and the only personal 
names, of the individual man who fought in America ; 

Motier : the name of his ancestors and descendants in the male 
line ; his real family name ; 

Marquis : entrusted by the King with the defence of border 
territory ("marche") .■ a title given to one of the Motiers, either at 
some remote period because he actually was such a defender, 
or later for " important services rendered ; " 

De : owner " of ", or originating " from ". This, as shown 
below, is an important distinction : 

La Fayette : " the beech-copse " ; the name of some estate, 
perhaps bestowed oh the Motier family by the King, along with 
the office of marquis, or bought by the family, the title of marquis 
going with it, subject to the King's assent; or perhaps conquered 
by main force in early days, but retained by the original family 
with the King's approval. 

- 163 - 



NOBILITY 

Such a name is normal. Exact parallels to it are not far to 
seek. The full name of Louvois was : Michel Le Tellier marquis 
de Louvois (haunt of wolves). Colbert was a commoner ; his 
able son, being ennobled by Louis XIV, was : Jean-Baptiste Col- 
bert marquis de Seignelay. The King himself was a member of 
the Capet family (Louis XVI was tried under the name of " Ci- 
toyen Louis Capet ") ; at the same time he was a duke ; and his 
estate was Bourbon (named from a spring). 

A few more remarks will further clear up to some extent this 
question of names : 

a) Some families are so old that their original family names, if 
they ever existed, have become extinct, and they are named from 
their estates only ; such are the Montmorencies, who are all des- 
cended from one Bouchard, a baron of Hugues Capet. 

b) A nobleman might have no estate, and therefore no de to his 
name ; he simply added a title to his family name ] e. g. Baron 
Gros, the painter, and Comte Hugo, the poet. 

c) Some of our most common surnames, Dupont, Durand, 
Duval (our Smiths and Joneses) include the t^e, which implies 
nothing more here but origin, the original dwelling-place. The 
de is extremely common in noble titles, because as a rule land and 
title went together, but by itself it does not imply noble status. 

d) In a very few cases, the owner of an estate might have receiv- 
ed no title from the King, whom he hated and fought ; such was 
the " Sire de Coucy " , a Picard, whose proud motto was : " Je ne 
suisroy, ne prince ne due, ne comte aussi; Je suis Sire de Coucy " 
(I am neither king, nor prince nor duke, nor count either ; I am 
Lord of Coucy). 

II. As regards the history of our nobility : originally, all the 
land fell to them by right of conquest. But they had no sooner 
settled down than the necessities of defence created military 
duties and a certain amount of discipline (institution of chivalry) ; 
mere possession, the reward of past valour, now implied respon- 
sibility, valour in the future. Until the end of the Middle Ages, 
the possession of land, even when largely nominal, went with 
supreme social rank and civil authority, and was bestowed on the 
fighter. The nobleman was either a field-marshal (duke) ; a 
companion of the King, or what we should now call a stafi-ofiicer 
(count, viscount); a military governor (marquis, baron), or simply 
a mounted officer (chevalier) who led the infantry consisting of 
peasants. So strong was the bond between authority and title 
that even churchmen assumed noble rank. Laymen and non- 
combatants gradually managed to retain more and more of the 
fruits of their labours, but their possession of the soil remained 
precarious, being subject to the consent of their lord and protector, 
the fighting man. 

After the Middle Ages, the development of four important 
factors which was accompanied by no corresponding changes io 

— 164 — 



Nobility 

the habits of our nobles, opened a widening gap between them and 
the nation, and rendered their prerogatives ever less justified. 
The first of those factors was the unification of the nation. King 
and people coming into direct touch over the heads of the nobles 
(see Historical, page 88). The second was the growing impor- 
tance of the arts of peace, by which military efficiency ceased to 
deserve the highest distinction. The third was the rise of science, 
industry, and capital, by which the possession and cultivation of 
land ceased to be the main source of wealth. The fourth was the 
gradual assimilation of warfare itself to the arts of peace ; valour 
and strength came to be less essential, even for a military leader 
than a knowledge of mathematics ; one single engineer, Vauban, 
did more for the defence of the territory than the whole Montmo- 
rency family. 

Partly from loyalty to their ancestors and to the old conditions 
that had made their class, partly owing to the fact that the pos- 
session of the land enabled them to ignore actual struggle for life, 
our nobles failed to adapt themselves, as a class, to those momen- 
tous changes in their environment. As a class, they were always 
unable to unite, and to understand and guide the lower orders. 
As a class, they refused to turn from military or agricultural pur- 
suits; and even as soldiers or farmers, seldom departed from old 
methods and standards. 

It was therefore unavoidable that they should lose all control 
over public affairs ; their political failure is the central fact of 
our history, and its unfortunate consequences can hardly be over- 
estimated. Saint-Simon, one of the highest members of our 
aristocracy under Louis XIV, and the staunch supporter of his 
class against the tyranny of the absolute Monarch, could not help 
writing about his own people that they were " ignorant, light- 
headed, lazy, fit for nothing but getting killed, and wallowed in 
the most deadly uselessness ".- — At Saint-Simon's instigation, the 
Regent instituted Councils of Noblemen who were to replace the 
State Ministers ; the scheme failed : the nobles were too inefficient. 
Yet our nobles enjoyed, until the Revolution, certain prerogatives; 
they were practically exempt from taxation, had in their gift 
most of the higher posts in army and Church, and handed down 
from father to son influential or remunerative sinecures. Those 
" privileges " had become so unjustifiable that the representatives 
of the nobility assembled in Versailles in 1789, spontaneously 
gave up most of them in the famous night of the 4th of August. 
They were all suppressed by law the next year. 

But if our citizens refuse to grant material advantages to men 
who do not return material services in exchange, they have not 
ceased to respect noble names and persons as shown by the fact 
that French swindlers of ambition and attainments generally 
go by some noble name. The very word " noble " , and its oppo- 
site " ignoble ", have lost nothing of their power of suggestion. 

- 165 - 



NOBILITY 

the untarnished tradition of honour, courage, and generosity 
of our nobility has always appealed strongly to the national tem- 
perament. As an artistic nation, we have always valued the ser- 
vices of those men of taste and leisure. Then it should be remem- 
bered that if some nobles, unfortunately the most noisy and 
influential, were mere courtiers, and idle absentees, many lived 
on their estates, and discharged their duties to their people to the 
best of their ability. When noble estates were put up for sale 
during the Revolution, it often happened that the farmers bought 
the land for a nominal sum, pretended to take possession, and 
returned the land to its former owners, as soon as circumstances 
permitted. This is almost miraculous, to those who know the 
passion of the French farmer for land ; it took place in many parts 
of the South and the West, where noblemen as a rule lived on the 
land. Then we do not forget that many individual nobles have 
been distinguished citizens. One Duke of Richelieu practically 
built Odessa ; a duke of Levis held the forts of Canada after the 
death of Montcalm, against all hope ; it was his son who wrote the 
famous maxim : " Noblesse oblige " (Nobility is responsibility) ; 
a Marquis of Clermont-Tonnerre was an able Naval Secretary 
about 1820 ; we are proud to think that General Curieres de 
Castelnau bears a name that has been associated with our national 
life for six hundred years. Etc. 

III. As to the condition of our nobility since the Revolution : 

All the privileges have remained abolished since 1790. 

Estates were in most cases bought again privately under, or 
officially returned by, the various monarchical Govern- 
ments. 

The titles, wliich are, in decreasing order of importance : "due", 
"marquis" "comte", "vicomte", "baron", and "chevalier", 
were abolished in 1790, revived by Napoleon in 1806, abolished 
again in 1848, and again revived by Napoleon III, four years 
later. The present Republic does not countenance titles as such, 
since it never bestows any, but it does recognize their existence as 
part of the names of certain citizens. The Decree of 1852 is still 
in force ; it forbids any one to assume a name to which he is not 
entitled, " with a view to honorary distinction ". However, our 
Courts may allow a citizen : i. to bear a title bestowed by a 
foreign prince ; the Popes have made several French counts, and 
the Sultans a few pachas ; 2. to add the de to his name, if he can 
prove that his name included it at one time. 

Families ennobled by Napoleon I, the Bourbons, Louis-Philippe, 
and Napoleon III, compose the " new nobility ", as distinguished 
from the " vieille noblesse " (old nobility) dating from before 
1789. 

Books recommended. — De Tocqueville, VAnden Regime et la Revolution. — 
The writings of Saint-Simon, La Bruyere, La Fontaine, etc., and more especially 
the Societe frangaise contemporaine (Perrin) of Vicomte B. de Montmorand. 

— 166 — 



NORD (DEPARTMENT OF) 

NORD (DEPART. OF). — This " departement " includes the 
former province of French Flanders. Its length is 200 kil. and its 
Wid h varies from 4 to 64 kil. It contains sand dunes in the N. ; 
marshes in the S. ; alluvia along the Lys ; clayish chalk about Lille; 
collieries around Valenciennes, and Douai ; Jurassic formations, 
hills and woods, about Avesnes. 

This last portion is called Ardennes; it is poor, sparsely populat- 
ed, and possesses one half of the total woodland of the " depar- 
terhent", whereas Flanders proper (N. and centre of Depart- 
ment), is one rich plain, continuously peopled and exploited, full 
of coal-beds and excellent plough-land. The total area of the 
" Nord " is 2,225 sq. miles ; 4/5 of it are under crops. 

The climate is cold and moist. The spring is late and short. 
The prevailing winds are from W., S., and N.-W. ; they all bring 
rain. 

The productions are the same as in Pas-de-Calais, but the pro- 
portions are different. Hops are freely cultivated, while wheat is 
not grown in sufficient quantities to supply the population ; the 
chicory of the " Nord ,' is sold all over France ; 564 " hectares " of 
tobacco produce 1,353,600 "kilos". 

Weaving and mining are the staple industries. Collieries alone 
occupy 52,089 " hect. ", and employ 17,000 men. But the 
' •' departement " consumes 50 % more coal than it produces. 

The total population in 1906 was 1,896,000. The "chef-lieu" 
s Lille, with 216,000 ; Roubaix and Tourcoing together have 
about as many. There are 7 " arrondissements" , 67 "cantons", and 
667 " communes " . 

Arrondissements. Cantons. 

Avesnes .... Avesnes, Bavai, Berlaimont, Landrecies, 

Maubeuge, Le Quesnoy, Solre-le-Chateau 

Trelon. 
Cambrai .... Cambrai, Carni^res, Le Cateau, Clary, 

Marcoing, Solesmes. 

Douai Arleux, Douai, Marchiennes, Orchies. 

DuNKERQUE. . . Bergues,Bourbourg, Dunkerque,Gravelines, 

Hondschoote, Wormhoudt. 
Hazebrouck . . Bailleul, Cassel, Hazebrouck, Merville- 

Steenvoorde. 
Lille Armentieres, La Bassee, Cysoing, Hau- 

bourdin, Lannoy, Lille, Pont-a-Marcq, 

Quesnoy -sur-Deule, Roubaix, Seclin, 

Tourcoing. 
Valenciennes . Bouchain, Conde, Denain, Saint-Amand-les- 

Eaux, Valenciennes. 

Population of certain places, in 1906 : Abscon : 3,050 ; Aniches : 
8,300; Anzin : 14,400; Armentieres: 28,600; Avesnes : 6,000; Aves- 

— 167 — 



0I§E (DEPARTMENT OF) 

nes-les-Aubert : 4,900; Bailleul : 13,600; La Bassee : 4,630! 
Bergues : 5,000; Bouvines: 589; Bruay : 7,500; Cambrai: 27,800; 
Cassel: 3,100; Le Cateau : 10,700; Chapelle-d'Armentieres : 4,436; 
Comines : 8,430; Conde-sur-l'Escaut : 5,320; Denain : 24,600; 
Douai : 33,250; Dunkerque : 38,300; Estaires : 6,610; Flers: 4,600; 
Fourmies : 14,000; Fresnes-sur-Escaut : 6,700; La Gorgue : 
4,200; Gravelines : 6,300 ; Halluin : 16,200; Hazebrouck : 12,800; 
Hem: 4,800; Houplines : 7,600; Landrecies : 4,000; Loos: 10,640; 
Maubeuge : 21,500; Merville : 7,620; Nieppe : 5,850 ; Orchies : 
4,450; Roubaix : 121,000; Seclin : 7,000; Sin-le-Noble : 9,300; 
Somain : 6,600; Steenvoorde : 4,200 ; Steenwerck : 4,000; Tour- 
coing : 81,700; Valenciennes: 31,800; Vieux-Conde: 7,800 ; Wat- 
treloos: 27,500; 

Famous personages born in the Department. — Alanus de 
Insulis, doctor universalis (1114-1203), b. Lille; Baudouin IX, 
Emperor of Constantinople, d. 1205; Froissart (1337-1410), b. 
Valenciennes; Ph. de Commynes (1445-1509), another chronicler; 
Father Trigault (1577-1628), b. Douai, first wrote on China; 
Jean Bart (1651-1702), b. Dunkirk; Dupleix (1690-1763); 
Watteau (1684-1721), painter, b. Valenciennes; Carpeaux (1827- 
1875), b. Valenciennes {see " Sculpture "); General Faidherbe 
1818-1889), b. Lille. 

Book recommended. — J. Joanne, Nord (Hachette, i fr.). 



OISE (DEPART. OF). — Named after the River Oise, and 
formed from 4 districts of Ile-de-France, and 3 districts of 
Picardy, in 1790. Its total area is 1,430,300 acres, comprising: 

Plough-land 996 no 

Pastures 68.615 

Vineyards 950 

Forests 204.280 

Its greatest dimension is 75 miles, and its capital Beauvais 
is 40 miles from Paris as the crow flies. 

The Oise is in the main a "plateau" , divided by moderate 
valleys, and consisting of chalky, or tertiary ground. The 
"Pays de Bray" owes its rich pastures to the fact that the sea, 
long before the existence of man, washed away from that par- 
ticular area the bed of chalk which is the base of the hills of 
Normandy further West. The most attractive feature of Oise is 
the beauty of its forests ; those of Compiegne, Chantilly, Erme- 
nonville, Halatte, Hez, Laigue, are the best-known. The Forest 
of Compiegne covers 36,000 acres; that of Chantilly, half as 
many. The hills of Picardy send half the streams of the Depart, 
toward the North and the Somme, half toward the South and 
the Seine. They do not rise above 780 feet. 
— 168 — 



51SE (DEPARTMENT 6P) 

The waterways are : the Oise, which takes its rise in Belgiuni 
(as a rule i,o6o eft. a second; at times, 21,500 c. ft.), and 
10 tributaries; the Aisne (and 2 trib.); the Therain (7 trib.), the 
Epte, the Ourcq, and the Bresle. 

The climate is Parisian, rather cold,,darap, and foggy; 140 days 
of rain, a height of 18 inches (average for France : 31 inches). 

The history of this territory has been as dramatic as that of 
the Aisne Depart., for the same reasons; the original stock 
belonged to that Belgian nation which Caesar regarded as the 
most courageous of the Gauls, and they have always been 
familiar with war. The people about the Therain and the Oise 
were still resisting the English after Crecy and Poitiers ; Grand- 
Ferre (see Soldiers) lived near Compidgne; in 1435, the French, 
under Xaintrailles and La Hire, defeated the English, com- 
manded by Arundel, at Gerberoy. In 1472, as the troops of 
Charles of Burgundy were scaling the walls of Beauvais, a girl, 
Jeanne Laisne, climbed to the battlements, a hatchet in her 
hand, wrenched away the flag which the Burgundians had 
already planted on the wall, and used her hatchet to such effect 
that the citizens soon rallied to her, and the city was saved. 
History-books have preserved her nickname : Jeanne Hachette. 

Agriculture — The Depart., in 1903, possessed 50,000 horses, 
135,000 head of cattle, 322,000 sheep, 35,000 pigs and 15,000 bee- 
hives. Beauvais has an " Institut normal agricole" , a private 
establishment of the first order. The output in cereals, in 1902, 
was I million quarters of wheat, over i million q. of oats ; mes- 
lin : 7,000; rye : 70,000; barley : 30,000. Potatoes amounted to 
I million cwt. ; sugar-beets : 10 million cwt; cider : 3 million 
gallons, etc. Cattle is mostly found in the west. The wine is 
mediocre and its production has become insignificant. The 
State owns 11 forests, yielding 100,000 c. meters of wood yearly 
(650,000 fr.), and consisting mostly of beech-trees, oaks, and 
horn-beams. 

Industries. — Peat : 7,000 tons; quarries of excellent freestone, 
clay, etc. (267 quarries in all, with 1,100 hands); 10 mineral 
springs (sulfurous, and ferruginous), articles of tabletterie 
(fans, dominoes, buttons, knife-handles, brushes, umbrella- 
handles, etc.) are manufactured in dozens of villages. Spinning 
and weaving afford labour to 5,000 people (50,000 spindles, 
3,000 looms); Beauvais has remained one of our centres for 
carpets and tapestries, (see Decorative Arts). In 1902, the Oise 
produced 15,000 tons of iron, and 47,000 tons of steel. One mill 
turns out 500,000 fr. worth of paper ; 34 sugaries produce 69,000 
tons. 600 workers produce glass to the amount of 2 1/2 mill. fr. 
Total steam-power of Oise : 2,438 engines; 33,344 HP.; to these 
should be added a large number of hydraulic engines. Oise 
imports 500,000 tons of coal, cotton, wool; and. exports stone 
clay, wood, cereals, and milk. 

— 169 — 



OlSE (DEPARTMENT OF) 

Communications : 

33 railway lines 893 kilom. 

National roads 602 " 

Chemins vicinaux 2,982 " 

2 Canals, and 2 Nav. Streams 168 " 

The population, in 1906, was 410,049 : 70 inhab. per sq. kilom. 
There were 950 Protestants, and 60 Jews. 

The "chef-lieu" is Beauvais, with 20,250 inhab.; there are 
701 "communes' , grouped among the following. 

Arrondissements. Cantons. 

Beauvais. . . Auneuil, Beauvais N-E, Beauvais S.-W., Chau- 

mont-en-Vexin, Coufray-Saint-Germer, For- 

merie, Grandvilliers, Marseille, Meru, Nivillers, 

Noailles, Songeons. 
Clermont . . Breteuil, Clermont, Crevecoeur-le-Grand, Froissy, 

Liancourt, Maignelay, Mouy, Saint- Just-en- 

Chaussee. 
CoMPifeGNE . . Attichy, Compifegne, Estrees-Saint-Denis, Guis- 

card, Lassigny, Noyon, Ressons-sur-Matz 

Ribecourt. 
Senlis .... Betz, Creil, Crepy-en-Valois, Nanteuil-le-Hau- 

doin, Neuilly-en-Thelle, Pont-Sainte-Maxence ; 

Senlis. 

Places above 1,000 inhab. — Agnetz : 1,197; AUonne : 2,684; 
Auneuil: 1,517; Balagny : 1,157; Bethisy-Saint- Pierre : 1,810; 
Bornel : 1,225; Bresles : 2,067; Breteuil: 2,839; Bury: 2,428; 
Carlepont : 1,154; Cauvigny : 1,007; Chambly : 1,835; Chan- 
tlUy : 5,083; Chaumont-en-Vexin : 1,513; Chiry-Ourscamps : 
1,636; Clermont: 5,488; Cires-les-Mello : 1,432; Compi^gne : 
16,868; Coye : 1,463; Creil: 9,272; Crepy-en-Valois: 5,375; 
Crevecceur-le-Grand : 2,141; Guise-la-Motte : 1,174; Estrees- 
Saint-Denis: 1,621: Fitz-James : 1,215; Feuquieres : 1,232; For- 
merie : 1,385; Gouvieux : 2,817; Granvilliers : 1,692; Guiscard ; 
1,425; Hermes : 1,491; Lacroix-Saint-Ouen : 1,728; Laigneville : 
1,202; Lamorlaye : 1,055; Liancourt: 3,924; Margny-les-Com- 
piegne : 2,550; Marissel : 1,763; Meru : 5,466; Montataire : 
7,141; Mouy: 3,454; Nanteuil-le-Haudouin : 1,454; Neuilly-en- 
Thelle : 1,592; Noailles : 1,375; Nogent-les-Vierges : 4,178; 
Notre-Dame-du-Thil : 1,858; Noyon : 7,336; Pierrefonds : 1,804; 
Pont-Sainte-Maxence : 2,418; Precy-sur-Oise : 1,064; Rantigny : 
1,310; Ravenel : 1,077; Saint-Firmin : 1,195; Seinte-Genevi^ve : 
1,521; Saint-Germer : 1,029; Saint-Just-des-Marais : 1,696; 
Saint-Just-en-Chaussee : 2,687; Saint-Leu-d'Esserent : 1,445; 
Saint-Maximin : 1,322; Saint-Sauveur : 1,003; Senlis: 7,126; 
Serifontaine : 1,494; Tracy-le-Mont : 1,882; Venette : 1,321; 
Verberie : 1,838; Verneuil : 1,077. 

— 170 — 



Minting 

Among the famous personages born within the limits of the Ois^ 
may be mentioned : Saint Guillaume (1105-1203), was Abbot 
in Denmark; La Ram6e (Ramus), philosopher and Professor at 
the College de France, was in favour of the Reformation and 
lost his Hfe on Saint Bartholomew's Day(i502-i572); Jean Calvin 
(1509-1564), b. at Noyon; R. Haiiy, mineralogist (1743-1822); 
also his brother V. Haiiy (see Sciences); Salomon de Brosse 
(1560-1626), etc. 

PAINTING. — French art in the Middle Ages, flourished but 
little outside the churches ; those were too dark at first, and later 
had too extensive windows, to offer surfaces favourable to pictor- 
ial art. Carved ornaments, and frequently statues, were painted, 
but such decoration has little to do with painting proper. Indeed 
all painting in the Middle Ages was mostly decorative. Orna- 
ment and colour-schemes prevail in the dehcate miniatures and 
the glorious windows (" vitraiix ") where the skill of our 
mediaeval decorators is best displayed. 

Rise of French painting. — As Gothic art declined, a 
new school arose at Tours, partly under Flemish influence. The 
master sculptor was Colombe, a Breton; the painter was 
Jean Foucquet (1415-1480), who combined the accuracy and 
colour of Flanders with the grace and restraint of France; from 
Italy he borrowed merely decorative details. He and his pupils 
promised a very fair future to our native painting. 

Italian influence But the influence of Italy was bound to 

develop unduly, when Charles VIII and Francis I invited to our 
country a number of the most able Itahans : Boccador, Cellini, 
Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea del Sarte, II Primaticio, etc. 
Those eminent men represented an already declining school : 
they easily supplanted our own painters, but failed to guide 
them. Clouet (Francis I), and Jean Cousin (1501-1589) repre- 
sented at the time the French tradition. 

French tradition established, — In the early part of the 
xviith century, our artists were still few, and had not the tech- 
nique of Flemish and Itahan painters. Kings and ministers 
organized and encouraged them in various ways, until they became 
numerous and skilful ; but at the same time they were subjected 
to uniform classical rules, and to the Royal taste. 

Artists who had studied from good masters or good models 
in Rome or Paris, were ascribed definite tasks by the King, Col- 
bert, or Le Brun. Realism, humour, caprice, were abhorrent 
to Louis XIV ; he was all in favour of the later sham-classical art 
of Italy, impersonal grandeur, and set rules. The result was that 
our national complexity could but faintly assert itself, and our two 
greatest painters then, Claude Lorrain and Poussin, however 
unlike in genius, both kept away from the Court, and did all their 

— 171 — 



Work in Italy. On the other hand, it must be said tliat ever! 
mediocre artists never fell short of a very fair standard. The 
greatest names of that stern methodical period, which began with 
Louis XIII and ended some time before the death of the Great 
King, are : the three brothers Le Nain, Callot, Philippe de 
Champaigne, Vouet, Le Brun (the task-master of all artists 
and artisans about the Court), Le Sueur, Mignard, Rigaud, 
Largilli^re. 

An Academy of Painting had been founded by Mazarin; the 
sculptors entered it in 1667; the musicians and architects in 1795 
(see : " Academiefrangaise "). The school established in Rome by 
Colbert in 1666 still allows a number of our young artists to 
spend five years in Italy at the expense of the nation. Thus, 
ever since Mazarin (an Italian), the French State has always 
patronized the arts, and kept our artists in close touch with Italy 
and antiquity exclusively. Of late years however, a similar 
hostel has been established in Algiers. 

Rise of freedom.— Official, as well as public taste, had chang" 
ed a good deal in the xviiith century ; besides, the King was no 
more a task-master, but merely one of the many connoisseurs of 
the day. As a consequence, the painters worked for a wide 
intellectual circle, and could evince far more personality than 
their predecessors ; imagination, colour, sensibility, had more 
scope in their work. The best remembered to-day are Coypel, 
Boucher, Watteau, Lancret, Nattier, La Tour, Vernet, 
Fragonard. Two men ignored the Court, and depicted scenes 
of middle class life ; one was Chardin, the most sincere artist 
of his day ; the other was melodramatic, sentimental Greuze, 
who toiled for popularity, gained it, and died forgotten. 

Revival of tradition. — David and Gros cover the period 
of the Revolution and the First Empire ; they returned, on the 
whole, to the solemn tradition of the " grand siecle " . A young 
painter of genius, G^ricault (1791-1824), heralds romanticism. 

Romanticism. — Ingres and Delacroix open the xixth cen- 
tury as eminent representatives of two opposite tendencies. 
Repose, reality, and perfect draughtsmanship content Ingres, a 
Southerner ; while Delacroix, a man of the North and a disciple 
of Gericault, displays imagination and colour, passion, effort. 
But Ingres, although he keeps to the old rules, is as observant as 
any modern painter; while Delacroix, the chief of the romantic 
school, still belongs to the classical past in this : he works indoors. 
All our painters, so far, had mostly studied " the human form 
divine " and worked in their studios. Our arts, like our literature, 
looked down upon Nature. The technique of the painters suffered 
greatly thereby, as light and colour should be studied out of doors. 
Delacroix had borrowed some of his colour from the English, but 
applied indoors what he had learned from pictures, instead ol 
working straight from nature. 

— 172 — 



PARIS 

Freedom established. — Solitary Corot, soon followed by 
the two men of Fontainebleau, Rousseau and Millet, gave us 
our first proper landscapes. As we became more democratic, we 
began to love and study nature, as the democratic Flemings 
and English had done long before us. Upon this discovery of 
outdoor life followed Courbet's "naturalism", a regard for things 
and men as they are, irrespective of their supposed elegance or 
majesty. Those leaders were followed by the famous " impres- 
sionists ", who used touches of colour in such a way that the 
canvas gave the " impression " of being luminous. 

Meanwhile we had history painters, such as Meissonier, 
Detaille, De Neuville, J. -P. Laurens, Rochegrosse; painter 
poets like Gustave Moreau or Puvis de Chavannes; oriental- 
ists : Regnault, Benjamin Constant, Fromentin; portrait- 
painters : BoNNAT, Carolus-Duran, Fantin-Latour, Carri£;re, 
etc... 

The plea of the naturalists and impressionists for nature and 
the individual has been heard ; we have ceased to worship imper- 
sonal perfection ; we have come to see that the characteristic is 
worthy of observation and preservation. We condemn a priori 
no school and no individual. The catholicity of our present taste 
can give their due to the reliability of the old school as represent- 
ed by Bonnat, the deep quality of emotion and light of Carri^re, 
the lofty visions of Puvis de Chavannes, the compact delicate 
imagery of Gustave Moreau, etc., quite irrespective of schools 
and theories, and is ready to welcome any young talent who 
may do no more than delight or amuse us with some novel aspect 
of the visible. 

Books recommended. — C. Bellanger, La Peinture fran(aise (Gamier, 5 fr.). — 
Ph. de Chennevieres, Essais sur I'histoire de la Peinture franfaise (Paris, 1894). — 
Hourticq, Ars una. France (Hachette, 7 fr. 50). — L. Gonse, La Peinture (Paris, 
1900). — Champeaux, Histoire de la Peinture decorative (Paris, 1890). — Muntz, 
La Peinture en France (3 vol.). 

Caffin, The Story of French Painting. — Eaton (D. C), Handbook of Modern. 
French Painting (Chatto & Windus, 1909). 

PARIS. — Paris numbers 3 million inhabitants ; with its imme- 
diate suburbs, i million more. 

It is not only the political capital, but also the greatest indus- 
trial centre of France, her largest emporium, principal railway- 
junction, and best-fortified city. 

It has remained an important harbour, owing to its situation on 
an important river, near the confluences of large navigable streams, 
the Yonne and Marne, flowing from E.-C, and the Oise and Aisne, 
from the N. In normal times there are regular sailings from 
Paris to England. If a proper canal was used instead of the Seine, 
which it is too narrow and shallow for modern navigation, Paris 
would probably become one of our chief sea-ports. The scheme 
is periodically broached under the name of " Paris port de mer ", 

- 173 — 



PARIS 



It was not the sea, however, but the rivers, that made Paris 
It was at first a poor community of wild fishermen and watermen, 
living on two large islands in the Seine ; the dense Gaulish forest 
of Ardennes spread all around them, covering the neighbouring 
hills. They worshipped the black goddess Isis, and had given her 
name to their tribe (Par-Isis) ; her cult had travelled from Egypt, 
through Greece, into Gaul, where she was worshipped as commonly 
as the Virgin is to-day. The Black Virgin of Chartres is an image 
of her. To-day, the Parisians worship " Notre-Dame " on the 
larger of the two original islands : " I'ile de la Cite " ; the other 
island is " I'tle Saint-Louis. 

When the Romans settled in Gaul, they made a city of this 
village of watermen. The Emperor Julian liked the soft water of 
the Seine, the figs grown in the district, and the local wines. He 
had a palace and baths built there for 
himself, on a hill overlooking the main 
island ; the remains of them are to be 
seen in fhe " Quartier Latin". Roman 
Lutetia had a theatre, arenas, walls and 
towers. Two main streets ran parallel 
across it : one was the present " Rue 
Saint-Jacques" , the continuation north- 
wards of 'the road from Rome, by which 
Saint James the Apostle, our first mis- 
sionary according to tradition, must 
have reached the city. The street paral- 
lel to this is now the " Boulevard Saint- 
Michel " ; (St-Michael is the patron 
saint of France, in whom Joan put her 
trust). Across the plain extending north 
of the river, the rue Saint-Jacques is 
continued by the "Rue" and "Fau- 
bourg Saint-Martin " ; (Saint Martin, 
was a Roman captain living in Gaul, 
who cut off with his sword half his 
cloak, to give it to a beggar.) The Bou- 
levard Saint -Michel, is continued north- 
wards, by the "Boulevard Sebastopol" 
due to Haussmann; parallel to this 
again run the old " Rue " and " Fau- 
bourg Saint-Denis, " leading to Saint- 
Denis, the burial-place of our Kings. 
Saint-Denis was missionary (about 250 
A. D.) who was beheaded on the till of 
Montmartre and walked away with his 
head hunder his arm (See fresco in Pantheon). " Saint Denis" 
and " Saint Martin " are two patron saints of Paris. 

The thix A is " Sainte Genevieve ". After the Romans, Lutetia 
had kept on growing, living mostly on water, commerce, and 

— 174 - 



1 

it 

Si 


>em 


0. 


i 

1 

i 


i ;:- 


-ytt 


m 



(Photo Hachette) 

Sainte Genevieve 

watching over her city. 

By Puvis de Chavannes. 

(Pantheon.) 



PARIS 

agriculture, when the Huns appeared. Then it was that a shepherd 
girl from a Parisian village, Nanterre, roused the courage of the 
people and their bishop. The Huns were driven back at Cha- 
lons, and thereafter Genevieve remained the favourite of " her 
dear people " of Paris. She died very old, surrounded with every 
mark of respect and affection. Her shrine is to this day the 
object of popular veneration ; it lies in the church of " Saint- 
Etienne-dn-Mont " (Saint-Stephen on the Hill), near the Pan- 
theon. The "Hill" is the " Moniasrne Sainte- Genevieve ". The 



PARIS 




Plan of Paris. 

Giving the basic structure of the town. — E.-W. axis : rue St-Antoine, rue de Ri- 
voli ; N.-S. axis : boul. Sebastopol, boul. Saint-Michel ; and the concentric boulevards. 



ruins of the Parisian arenas, and a tower built by Clovis, are 
close by. 

Under Prankish rulers, Paris shared the honour of being a capi- 
tal with Soissons, Treves, Tournai, Orleans, and Metz. Under 
the Romans, the capital had been Lyons. About 800, the Nor- 
mans appeared. They looted Paris twice ; their third attempt 
found the little city well-prepared ; it stood their siege one full 
year. When 9, cowardly King made terms with the Normans, 

— 175 - 



PARIS 

allowing them some money and the permission to loot Burgundy 
the Parisians indignantly kept their gates closed against the impu- 
dent pirates, never permitting them even to row past their islands 
up the river. The Normans had to carry their boats on their 
shoulders, and walk round. The defender of Paris had been 
Count Eudes ; he was rewarded for his patriotism by being elected 
to the crown. From that day, Gaul ended, France began, and 
Paris became the only capital. 

As the Capetians extended their power, Paris grew in wealth and 
culture. Abundance of timber from the surrounding forests, of 
limestone from underground, wheat from the plateaux of Beauce 
and Brie near by, all merchandise brought by the rivers, made 




Arms of the City of Paris 
The motto might be translated: " It is tossed by the waves, but does not sink. " 

it easy to build houses, and provide food and work, for a population 
of any number. 

The most important corporation remained that of the " Water- 
Merchants " ; they had monopolized the river-traffic within a 
considerable radius, and therefore could fix the prices of most 
commodities. They had become so powerful in the Middle Ages 
as absolutely to tyrannize over the city. Complaints were made 
to the Kings... but the ship in the arms of Paris to-day is but the 
crest of their greedy Guild. 

Philippe- Auguste, about 1200, established the " Etude de 
Paris, " the embryo of the University ; he had the streets paved 
for the first time, the first Louvre built, and the present Notre- 
Dame founded. 

Paris has always needed protection, being so near the N.-E. 
frontier. Indeed, one of the reasons of the Romans for making 
a city of it was its strategical value. Philippe-Augusta extended 

— 176 — 



PARIS 

its limits as a fortified city, in 1180 ; one tower of his wall is still 
standing. Charles V further extended them in 1370. The forti- 
fied area was increased fourfold in 17 84-1 791. The present forti- 
fications, rather obsolete as such, were built in 1 841 -1846. (As to 
the real fortifications of Paris to-day, see Frontiers.) The sites 
of past fortifications are now used as streets, which describe 
wide concentric circles, and are called " Boulevards " from the 
bulwarks which they have replaced. 

In spite of those defences, Paris was taken several times. Once, 
m 1430, it fell before the Burgundians and their English allies (see 
Joan of Arc). It was held by the Spaniards in 1593, when 
Henri IV was allowed to enter it only on condition that he 
became a patholic. He complied, saying : " Paris is well worth 
a mass... " The " Allies " entered it in 1814, and again in 1815. 




The Seine at Paris. 

The Prussians besieged it, but were not allowed to billet in it after 
Its surrender in 1 871. It was saved recently from their latest 
aggression, m Sept. 1914, by its Governor, General Gallieni, and 
the Battle of the Marne. 

The prestige of Paris is unique ; it is due to a unique coincidence 
of essential factors : 

a) It is the capital of the most thoroughly centralized nation in 
the world ; no other city is such a perfect mirror of any one 
nation, all that nation, and nothing but that nation. Modern 
Italy has hardly begun her life, and is represented in Milan better 
than in Rome ; London is far less the representative of England 
than the Metropolis of an Empire and the Premier Harbour of 
the world. 

b) The nation which Paris so exactly expresses has had the 
longest, most complex, and most dramatic history in modern 
Europe. Paris bears everywhere the impress of absolute monar- 
chy, and at the same time always led revolutionary movements • 
it is associated with all the stern aspects of war, and all the crea- 
tions and recreations of peace. 



f^i;,!iENS 



— 177 — 



77 



?? 



PARIS 

c) Its site is quite exceptional in proportions and variety ; that 
of Concord (U. S. A.) is perhaps as good, but Concord's position on 
the world-map is not likely to make it an international rendez- 
vous. 

d) On the contrary, Paris is on the way from England to Italy, 
from Germany to Spain, and from Russia to America. 

e) It happens that the nation which built Paris is artistic, and 
has spent much money and pains on making and keeping it beau- 
tiful. 

f) Paris is now surpassed in size by London and New- York, 
but it was for a long time the most populous city in the West, and 
has a tradition of wide outlook and culture which is, to say the 
least, not surpassed anywhere yet. 

France and Paris react on each other, at all points, mostly in 
matters of art. France has made Paris beautiful, and Paris 
makes beauty for France, through that joint product of France and 
Paris, the Parisian. 

For instance, it is well known — • the experiment has often been 
tried — that those milliners and " couturier es "who impersonate 
French taste in fashion, must live in Paris : they soon lose their 
skill when transferred to other cities. In the same manner, our 
artisans and artists of all descriptions, to our very writers, owe 
part of their French taste to the atmosphere of Paris. Paris 
teaches them moderation, clearness, discipline, " divine propor- 
tion, " as Leonardo calls it. The scale of the city is moderate ; its 
river is wide, but it is a river, not an arm of the sea ; the buildings 
are sometimes extensive, but never high (the Eiffel tower of course 
is not a building : merely a lusus scienticB) ; the houses are not 
supposed to rise above a height exactly in proportion with the 
width of the street, and even when the street is very wide, never 
above sixty feet. All houses built on certain decorative avenues 
or places must be built and strictly preserved according to the 
uniform pattern specially designed by the architect who planned 
the avenue or place. (Note the houses along the " rue de Rivoli" , 
or around the " Arc-de-Triomphe ".) The individual is requested 
not to assert himself ; let the upstart or the eccentric build his 
" follies " elsewhere. Paris does not belong to him ; if he lives 
in Paris, he must obey Paris. For years, Paris did without trol- 
leys, because the wires would have spoilt the perspective of 
the streets ; there are some trolleys now, in outlying quarters, but 
they have learned to conceal their wires among the foliage of the 
bordering trees. No trains are allowed to smoke in Paris ; when 
they reach the wall, they must change their steam locomotives for 
electric ones, or turn their smoke into the engine. Paris has not 
even parks of natural grass, with trees growing as they please ; 
but geometrical gardens, with trees severely lopped, planted at 
equal distances ; if one dies, another of full-grown size takes its 

— 178 ^ 



PARIS 

place ; and the flower-beds in the never-trodden lawns are designs 
in colours, as geometrical as needle-work. Statues appear every- 
where ; some are inspired by patriotism more than by taste, and 
represent great or supposed great men ; but most are simply deco- 
rative, not intended to perpetuate anything but the undying 
power of art. 

A proof that Paris makes the Parisian, and is the product of all 
France, is that most Parisians were not born in Paris : out of 
loo people living in Paris, 51 were born in the provinces, 10 are 
foreigners, only 39 are born Parisians. Why such a large pro- 
portion of provincials ? Partly because Paris is steadily growing 
(xvith century : 250,000 ; xviiith : 500,000 ; 1817 : 714,000 ; 
1840 : 900,000) ; partly because Paris works very hard, and its 
families die out rapidly. 

The visitor who "does " Paris, and confines his attention to the 
monuments and the amusements, finds Paris a " jolly place " ; 
but if he walked the streets about 7 a. m., instead of taking his 
" chocolat " and his " petit pain " in bed, he would soon find out 
that Paris works just as hard as any other great city. Indeed the 
tired pale faces, of the women especially, strike any one who returns 
from the French villages or provincial towns. Even schools begin 
at 8. a. m. There is no afternoon tea, and no Saturday afternoon 
for the workers. Paris is never quite at rest, never " dead ", as 
London is at regular intervals. One reason for this is that, while 
English cities pulsate " horizontally, " people rushing to and fro 
between suburbs and centres, French cities pulsate " vertically, " 
people coming down from their floor to the workshop, office, 
"cafe," or theatre, so that the streets are always filled, even in the 
centre. This is changing gradually, however, and Parisian, 
suburbs are more and more the residences of people working in 
Paris ; yet the fact remains that England developed her industries 
almost two hundred years ago, while we are still more agricultural 
than industrial, the paradoxical consequence being that we are 
far more urban when we live in cities at all because our cities 
are still of convenient extent. 

Indeed, to understand what Paris is to a Parisian to-day, one 
should remember certain pages of Charles Lamb, who lived in those 
days when a Londoner could spend his life within the precincts of 
London, walk home from his office at leisure, now and then having 
a look at some prints in a shop-window, or a talk with a friendly 
bookseller ; when a Londoner regarded London as his " home ", 
not merely as a colossal agglomeration of banks, warehouses, 
docks, tube-stations, theatres and tea-shops. Paris is coming 
nearer every day to a city of that pattern, but is still, in that 
respect, a good many years behind London; thousands of Paris- 
ians, like Lamb, have but a spasmodic or literary sympathy with 
the country, and most of them hate a suburb. They are still like 
Montaigne, who said : " I love Paris, to its very warts. " They 
feel that if they live too far from its centre, which is the very 

=- 179 — 



PAS-DE-CALAIS (DEPARTMENT OF) 

heart of France, they cease to be in touch with their country; oi 
France could be said what George Meredith said of Paris : 
" Light in light hands, yet vaUant unto death for a principle ; 
and therefore not light, in strong hands very steadfast rather; 
and oh ! so constantly entertaining. " 

Books recommended. — H. Cain, Promenades dans Pans (Flammarion). — Paris- 
Pittoresque series (Figuiere). — R. Seres et J. Aubry, les Parisiens pendant I'etat de 
siege (B.-Levr., 3 fr. 50). — See also the Works o£ Fournier; Ed. Drumont, Mon 
Vieux Paris; A. Daudet, 30 Ans de Paris; and catalogue of E. Flammarion. 

H. Robert, Paris's Effort (Bloud, o fr. 60). - Edwards (G.-F.), Old Time Paris 
(A. Doubleday & C, 2 s.). — Barnard (C.-I.), Paris War Days-Diary of an American 
(Little Brown C°, Boston, 1916). — Lucas (E.), A Wanderer in Paris. 13th Edition 
(Methuen, 1915). — Sherrard, Modern Paris (T. Werner Laurie, London, 1911). — 
Hyatt (A.-H.), The Charm of Paris (Chatto & Windus, 2 s. 6 d.) 



PAS-DE-CALAIS (Depart, of). — Corresponds roughly with the 
old province of Artois. Its population in 1906 was 1,012,466 
inhabitants. Its " chef -lieu" is Arras (25,000). It contains 904 
" communes ". 

The Department takes its name from the Straits of Calais ; 
Caesar embarked for Britain from a point of its coast ; the Roman 
route Rome-Lyons-Boulogne-Dover-London was one of the most 
important in the Empire ; Calais and Boulogne were long held by 
the English ; from Boulogne did Napoleon prepare a landing in 
England. 

The general formation of the Department is that of a plateau, 
the highest point of which is only 650 feet above sea-level. Some 
of its 41 rivers flow to the Channel, along the gentle southward 
slope ; others to the North Sea, through ravines in the steep 
northern edge, and are then deflected E. by the low hills of Flan- 
ders. The plateau is covered with red clay and flint, under which 
lies pure chalk. The wells have to be extremely deep, and the 
population is sparse on all rising ground. By Calais extends a 
plain of peat and more or less clayish sand, which lies beneath sea- 
level, and was under water in the third century. This replica of 
Holland is drained by channels called " wairingues ", or " wat- 
argands ", and protected from the tides by a system of dunes, 
and of sluices at the mouths of rivers. Those sluices are closed 
when the tides are running up. Two tides would suffice to ruin 
the plain. Jurassic formations exist about Boulogne. 

Coal was discovered in Pas-de-Calais in 1847, on the boring of 
a water-well. The coal bed of Nord extends into Pas-de- 
Calais over a breadth of 5 miles as far as Bethune. Beyond that 
town, it is only half as wide, and disappears about Flechinelles. 
It reappears 42 kil. further, at Flennes and Hardinghem. 

The climate is generally cold and damp ; the W. wind prevails . 
mists are frequent, on account of the low marshy levels in the W. 
The average temperature is 8.5° Cent., 2° below the Paris average. 



PAS-DE-CALAIS (DEPARTMENT OF) 

As a rule the soil becomes extremely muddy after rains, and dries 
rapidly again. 

There is little difficulty in riding or driving across country. 

The total area is (about 2,600 sq. miles) 666 . 425 Hectares 
distributed between : 

Plough-land, canals, railways, etc. . . . 514.293 — 

Pastures 43-387 — 

Woods, and osier land 35.408 — 

Orchards, hop-gardens, gardens .... 24.663 — 

Fallow land i5-440 — 

Marshes, peat -bogs 3-ioS — 

The soil, when fertile at all, is remarkably so. It produces a 
quantity of wheat, oats, beet-roots, also colza and other oil seeds. 
Beet-roots alone cover 35,000 hectares. Barley (24,000 hect.) pro- 
vides for the beer of the Department. Poppy and flax are of 
high quality. Tobacco is grown about Saint-Pol, Montreuil, and 
Saint-Omer, over 922 hectares producing 2 million kilos. 

Pas-de-Calais has 82 coal-pits, employing, in 1894,44,400 miners ; 
in 1895, the production was 11,097,807 tons. (Total for France m 
1894 : 27,416,900 tons.) It possesses also 958 quarries, 65 of 
which give phosphates of lime (95.000 tons in 1894). Others 
supply sandstone, cement, sand, gravel, marble, limestone. 

The Department has 1,422 steam-mills, 43 sugar-factories, 
516 breweries; blast furnaces at Isbergues, Marquise, Outreau; 
iron works at Isbergues, and Lens. Zinc, copper, lead, are work- 
ed at Biache, Saint-Waast, and Noyelles-Godault. 

The first " Artesian " well was bored in a convent of Tillers in 
the xiiith century. 

Arrondissements. Cantons. 

Arras . . . Arras, Bapaume, Beaumetz-les-Loges, Ber- 

tincourt, Croisilles, Marquion, Pas, Vimy, 

Vitry-en-Artois. 
B^THUNE . . Bethune, Cambrin, Carvin, Houdain, Laven- 

tie. Lens, Tillers, Norrent-Fontes. 
Boulogne. . Boulogne, Calais, Desvres, Guines, Marquise, 

Samer. 
Montreuil . Campagne, Etaples, Fruges, Hesdin, Hue- 

queliers, Montreuil. 
Saint-Omer. Aire, Ardre, Audruicq, Fauquembergues, 

Lumbres, Saint-Omer. 
Saint-Pol. . Aubigny, Auxi-le-Chateau, Avesnes-le-Comte, 

Heuchin, Le Parcq, Saint-Pol. 

Among the famous personages born in Pas-de-Calais, should 
be mentioned : Godefroy de Bouillon (1058-1100) and his bro- 
ther Baudouin, first Kings of Jerusalem; Suger (1082-1152), 
abbott of Saint-Denis, Prime Minister, and promoter of Gothic 

- 181 — 



t'ASTEUR 

architecture; Lef^vre cI'Etaples (i455-I537) one of the first 
Calvinists; Robespierre, b. Arras (1759-1794); Frederic Sau- 
VAGE, born atBoulogne (1785-1857) (See: Science and Invention); 
Sainte-Beuve (Boulogne, 1804-1869) (See : Literature) ; 
Mariette-Pacha (1821-1881), b. Boulogne (See : Science and 
Invention) ; A. Delacroix (1820-1868), b. Boulogne, painter; 
and Mr. Ribot, born at Saint-Omer in 1842. 

Population of certain places (1906). — Ablain-Saint-Nazaire : 
1,155 ; Aire : 8,000 ; Arques : 4,500 ; Arras : 25,000 ; Azincourt : 
320 ; Bapaume : 2,950 ; Berck : 9,650 ; Bethune : 13,600 ; Bou- 
logne-sur-Mer : 51,200 ; Calais : 66,600 ; Courrieres : 5,000 ; 
Desvres : 5,000 ; Etaples : 5,300 ; Prevent : 4,750 ; Guines : 4,400 ; 
Hebuterne : 800 ; Laventie : 3,750 ; Lens : 27,750 ; Lillers : 
8,000 ; Marceuil : 1,456 ; Montreuil : 3,550 ; Mont-Saint-Eloi : 
1,200 ; Neuve-Chapelle : 660 ; Neuville-Saint-Vaast : 1,250 ; 
Noeux-les-Mines : 8,300 ; Oignies : 4,050 ; Queant : 1,000 ; Riche- 
bourg-l'Avoue : 2,050; Saint-Omer: 21,000; Saint-Pol: 4,000; 
Saint-Venant : 3,500 ; Souchez : 1,500 ; Vimy : 2,400. 

Books recommended. — Joanne, Pas-de-Calais (Hachette, i fr.) 

See also : Information, and Somme. 

PASTEUR (Louis, 1 822-1 897) was essentially a chemist, who 
came to devote his time to practical research, in the interests of 
national industries, and the general welfare of mankind. It was 
he who said : " If science is of no country, the man of science must 
always bear in mind the glory of his country. 
In any great scientist you will always find a 
great patriot. " When he was offered a post at 
the University of Pisa, he said : " I should feel 
that I had committed the crime, and deserved 
the punishment of a deserter, if I left my coun- 
try for the sake of material profit. 

His first work was on the Symmetry of Crys- 
tals, his conclusion being that symmetry marked 
mineral formations, and dissymmetry organic 
life. This led him to the discovery of ferments. 
I . Sugar and amylic alcohol present such simi- 
Pasteur larities and differences of structure that Pasteur 

(ph. by Pierre Petit) thought there must exist between them an orga- 
nic link. The theory that fermentation is due to 
living organisms had been put forward by Leeuwenhoeck, in 
Holland, in the xviith century, and reasserted in France in 1835 
by Cugniard de La Tour, but dismissed by the great German che- 
mist, Liebig. Pasteur proved by experimentation that the theory 
was true. 

2. By intuition and experiment he found, and proved that 
fermentation is due in each case (milk, beer, etc.) to a different 




t^ASTEUit 

organism. He destroyed -such organisms by subjecting them t(t 
appropriate temperatures ("pasteurisation"). 

3. Where did those organisms come from ? — Exclusion of 
air prevented fermentation ; air therefore must contain the 
microbes ; he denied and disproved spontaneous generation, and 
studied air-organisms. 

4. He further found, and proved, that several diseases of higher 
animals are due to particular organisms. 

5. He obtained vaccines that destroyed or combated those 
organisms. 

His discoveries in the infinitely small can only be compared to 
Newton's discoveries in the infinitely great. The work of Newton 
probably appeals more to the imagination ; but Pasteur has done 
far more for the happiness of mankind ; in this case, the French- 
man has been the more practical of the two. Pasteur's discove- 
ries have guided millions of men in the preservation of drinks and 
foods, have placed in a new light every industry and pursuit 
which micro-organisms can affect favourably or unfavourably, 
and last but not least have remained the guides of all investigators 
in medicine and surgery. Some of his principles have been applied 
with some exaggeration in certain cases, but his own experiments 
and conclusions are still unchallenged. 

Pasteur found the cure of anthrax in 1881, the cure of rabies 
in 1885, and the cure of hen-cholera in 1889. His treatment of 
the silk-worm he worked out in 1853, at the request of his 
master, J.-B. Dumas, who had had to report to Parliament on 
the matter. His first human case was a young Alsatian shepherd, 
Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by a mad dog in fourteen 
places. 

One day, while being received by his native city of Dole, he 
was delivering a speech just opposite the poor tanner's shop 
where his father had lived, when he burst into tears, saying: " O my 
father and mother, my dear departed, you who lived so modestly 
in this poor house, I owe everything to you. " He had had to 
work his way, as a bursar, then as an usher, from a popular school 
in his native town to the Ecole Normale in Paris. He was 
" Agrege " and Doctor by 1847, professor at the University of 
Strasbourg in 1852, taught in Lille for a time, and was appointed 
in Paris in 1857. He was made a member oithe" Academie des 
Sciences", "Academie Frangaise", and "Academie de Medecine". 
In 1870, he returned to the Germans all the honours they had 
conferred upon him, ' ' by token of his indignation at the slaughter 
of two great nations. " In 1874, a pension of £ 1,000, to revert 
to his widow and family, was granted him by Parliament. 
His jubilee was celebrated at the Sorbonne in 1895. 

The " Institut Pasteur " (Paris, rue Dutot) was founded in 
1886, by international subscription, for the treatment of rabies. 
Another subscription created the " Institut Serotherapique " of 
Garches. Later annexes were the " Institut de chimie biologique " 

- 183 - 



and a special hospital. Similar establishments exist in Lille, 
Tunis, Constantinople, Annam, South America, etc... 

A popular referendum in the press some years ago proved that 
the nation is quite aware of the merits of its greatest son, and 
places him first in its estimation. (Victor Hugo ranked next.) 

Books recommended. — Vallery-Radot, vie de Pasteur (Hachette). 

Falkland (P.), Pasteur {1898). 

PEASANTS. — In many farms of France may be seen a little 
coloured print representing the main professions. At the top of 
some very ornate stairs stands a king with the motto : " I rule 
you all "'; on the step below is a priest who says : " I pray for 
you all " ; further down, a soldier with the words : " I defend you 
all ". — At the bottom of the steps stands a peasant, and his 
words are : " I feed you all ". 

Never before this war had so many people of the towns realized 
that brief vital truth ; and never before had so many of them come 
into touch with the man that feeds them. 

This war has been the triumph of democracies ; it has been the 
revelation of the French peasant, who is no less than France 
essential. Those who were surprised at the courage or stubborn- 
ness of our men, at their patience and ingenuity, were simply those 
who did not yet know the silent man of our country-side, the hard 
and skilful labourer whom we call " Jacques Bonhomme. " The 
deep sanity of the national mind, despite occasional glaring para- 
doxes, comes from him ; our national zest for honest work, habits 
of economy, and distrust of fresh air, which we call " draughts, " 
the hundred peculiarities of our character, good or bad, all come 
from the obscure ploughman, whom the British have now come 
to know personally. 

He is not clean ; he is fond of money, and " dour. " Those are 
the main reproaches levelled at him, and perhaps the only three. 
Although he is not entirely blameless on any of those counts, his 
defence might be framed somewhat in this way : 

First, as to his dirtiness : he is not so dirty after all, in peace- 
time (the tremendous difference should not be lost sight of ; he 
is " worn out with soldiers " as he puts it) ; in peace-time, his 
floors are clean, the bed-clothes are spotless, there is no dust on 
the furniture, and he is very particular about his food. It is true 
that his sanitary arrangements and bathing requisites are to say 
the least very scanty ; he will tell you that his sanitation is good 
enough for him, since no harm ensues, which is true enough ; 
as to his bathing, the men who have drawn buckets of chalky 
water from wells two hundred feet deep will perhaps pardon 
him... Many parts of France have a fertile but porous soil ; all 
the water comes from ponds, cisterns, and deep wells ; it is muddy, 
scarce, or hard to get at. Artois and Picardy lie on porous 
chalk ; they cannot be so clean as Flanders. Wind-mills, motors, 



PEASANTS 

tanks, etc. could provide the villages with water at a good deal 
of expense, but the philanthropist has not yet been found. And 
even then, would those people have time ? Time is money ; they 
work and have to work every minute of the day... They sweat, 
and change their linen ; they always have a good deal of linen, and 
wash it frequently. " Jacques Bonhomme" has often remarked that 
the cleanliness of the British soldier was that of a townsman who 
had plenty of water at his disposal, and relied on laundries. 
Tommy would wash his body with as much water as he could get, 
and then put on his dirty shirt again ; the son of " Jacques 
would have washed his shirt first, and then himself, with less 
water and better results... 

" Jacques " is sparing of everything, except his own exertions. 
His poverty is not realized, because statistics emphasize the 
wealth of agricultural France, and because " Jacques " manages 
to make both ends meet ; yet he earns less, with more labour, 
than the workman in the city. 

To say that we are a nation of landlords is gross exaggeration ; 
our proportion of land-owners, about i /5 of our population, is 
comparatively high, but does not imply that the peasant is not 
poor. We have 23.5 millions of peasants, say 7 million families. 
Out of 8 million holdings, 2 are over 15 acres, and therefore are 
not owned by " peasants ; " another 2 millions belong to the small 
" bourgeoisie " of our small towns. Therefore, out of 7 million pea- 
sant families, only 4 own their farms ; the rest consist of tenants, 
and of day-labourers who earn between 3 francs and i fr. 50 a 
day. Even those who have farms of 15 acres and over cannot be 
said to be well-off ; toil and frugality are inseparable from their 
condition. Their eagerness for money is therefore readily under- 
stood ; even when excessive, it partakes of childish ignorant greed, 
and a desire to feel safe, more than of genuine social ambition. 
The " real gentleman " who tips generously, is not regarded as 
grasping ; yet he seldom misses an opportunity of maintaining 
by political measures a social system which allows him to live on 
the fat of the land: the land of "Jacques." The best proof that the 
peasant is not a real money-maker is that he discards obvious 
possibilities of profit, such as association with neighbours, invest- 
ing, working in towns, etc. Long, cruel experience, age-long 
isolation, have taught him that the only two factors on which 
he can rely, are himself and his land. He hoards up his pence, not 
in a bank, but in a pot under his bed-post, merely in order to be 
sure of the morrow (you never can be too sure, with all those 
wars, and financial bubbles !), and be able to buy just another bit 
of land. He does not want, does not expect to be rich, he is too 
wise to entertain such hopes ; he merely desires to " round off 
his field " (" arrondir son bien "). 

He is hard on others at times ; but he is hard on himself at all 
times ; he owes everything to himself, to his hard work and parsi- 
mony. To him every one has been harsh time out of mind ; 

- 185 - 



PEASANTS 

tiobody ever took notice of him but to ask or exact things fronj 
him. Only one hundred years ago, he was not quite past serfdom 
yet. He has been looted again and again. Whenever kings and 
nobles had a family discussion, they used his fields as a battle- 
ground, and his sons as men-at-arms. Then, to recoup them- 
selves, victor and vanquished would burden him with taxes. He 
had to be mason and carpenter, cow-doctor, road-maker, and 
blacksmith. Soldiers destroyed his cabin periodically, some- 
times just for fun (whether friend or foe, the soldier must always 
destroy, just as the peasant always creates). Of course, when he 
built up his hut again, he just used sticks and mud; what else 
could he do ?... 

Azincourt was lost by the French partly because the horses of 
the noble knights floundered in the furrows freshly sown with good 
corn by " Jacques Bonhomme... " 

Another witness to the perpetual martyrdom of the French 
peasant, especially the man of Flanders, Artois, Picardy (the cock- 
pit of Europe), is the following statement of the old chronicler 
Amelgard. By the end of the xvth century, the cattle of Picardy 
had got so used to be taken to certain hiding-places, either in 
forests, or under ground (the chalk of Picardy is honey-combed 
with such refuges), that they had come to need no guidance, and 
no other signal but the ringing of the alarm-bell {" U tocsin "). 
Such was, even among the dumb beasts, " I' accoutumance du 
malheur". "From Abbeville to Laon, the land was absolutely 
barren, covered with bush and briar ; the people lived in the 
woods, in strongholds, or just under the walls of the cities, 
within sight of the sentries who kept watch in the steeples. " 

Two hundred years later, while Versailles dazzled the world. La 
Bruyere gave his famous description of the peasants of that time : 
" One sees about the land certain animals living on roots... " 
Young, about 1780, is almost as disheartening. 

When judging the French peasant, one should not compare him 
with the farming class of England or America, but with the 
slum-dwellers of the great cities in those countries, for he is, and 
has been for ages, our most unfortunate class. It is little wonder 
that he did well at Verdun, or quietly ploughs his land under 
shell-fire : he has faced for ages what is worse than occasional 
mortal danger : daily toil and want, daily anxiety and pain. 

And then, after all... his faults are those' of all true peasants. 
But his virtues are less wide-spread. The greatest perhaps is 
his intelligence. He has not only common-sense, wit, and humour, 
like most manual workers ; he has a quick, discerning, retentive 
mind. Several of our great men were born on farms. "Jacques" 
reads no books ; all his knowledge is traditional, or experimental ; 
but it is sound, and thoroughly assimilated. The guide and proof 
of his intelligence is moderation. The vein of wise scepticism 
that characterizes our literature and life is essentially the product 
of peasant observation and reflection. His religion he has nevei 

— 186 — 



PEASANTS 

denied, but always taken with several grains of salt. He appliei 
the same caution toward political or social creeds too precise or 
violent. The ne quid nimis which French nature teaches is the 
strong rule of his life and thought. He knows far too much to be 
tempted by the Kolossal. Of the insane invasion of the Hun, he 
says with a smile (for has he not seen the true and original Huns 
already, and those same Prussians in 1792, 1793, 1814, 1815, 
and 1870 ?) : — " Yes, of course, they simply swarm, and it 
is no use killing them just now. They are like field-mice ; 
when they nvade a district, you may do what you please : the 
more you kill, the more there seems to be. But then one fine 
morning, you find that they are gone... Things on that scale 
cannot last : they are not in nature. 

Another good point about "Jacques" is his courtesy, which has 
no touch of cringing about it. To a man who enters his house, and 
asks him a service without having said even "Good morning, " he 
replies with curt politeness ; he knows perfectly well when he is 
looked down upon. But a few kind words, and a smile, are enough 
to make him as hospitable as any gentleman on earth, with his 
scanty means, could well be. 

A great deal more could be said about his daily life, his love of 
the soil, his history, the part he has played in the political develop- 
ment of the nation, and about his future ; but we must confine 
ourselves to the essential : his character. The following quota- 
tions will show that there is no exaggeration in our praises of him. 

" From the grey solitudes of Brittany to the sunny hillsides of 
the Pyrenees, the peasants of France have kept the land under cul- 
tivation during two years and a half of war. Their young men 
have all gone to fight, and many of the men who are no longer 
young ; for no part of the population has given so generously to 
the active army as the peasants. 

" In consequence, the greater part of the work on the land has 
fallen to the lot of the women, helped by the old men and the 
children. What they have achieved is stupendous, and their 
endurance has been epic. The results of their work have necessa- 
rily varied with the difference in climate, soil, and experience ; 
but from end to end of the country there is only one thing to say 
of the French peasants : their effort in the war has been magni- 
ficently patriotic. " (M. E. Clarke, in the Cornhill Magazine.) 

" As I have walked about in Flanders, turning over thoughts 
about the onward movement of God's purposes in the world, 
I have met those matchless monuments of patient and unchang- 
ing daily toil, the peasants working in the fields. Harnessed 
into the perpetual cycle of seed time and harvest, what can this 
talk of movements and purposes in the great world be to them ?... 

" The old man in the fields — or is it the old wrinkled woman 
doing more than one man's work ? — know that life cannot be 
fully measured by the gauge of the individual's daily round. A 

— 187 — 



PEASANTS 

Word will bring pride and light to their eyes. It is " Vive la 
France ! " They are citizens of a world wider than their fields. 
They belong to " La Patrie ". Life is monotonous and cyclical, 
and yet it is more than that. Great changes do arrive in days 
of crisis and convulsion — yes, in days of judgment, and the vic- 
tims of changelessness are caught up by the movement. They 
are awakened out of the sleep of humdrum existence, and are 
asked to give proof, and proudly do give proof, that, plodders 
though they be, they belong to no mean city. " {Thoughtson religion 
at the front by Rev. N. Talbot, A. C. G., Macm. and C", 1917.) 

"Here the shell-holes were rather thick on the ground. But the 
women and the children and the old men went on with their work 
with the cattle and the crops ; and where a house had been broken 
by shells, the rubbish was collected in a neat pile, and where a 
room or two still remained usable, it was inhabited, and the tatter- 
ed window-curtains fluttered as proudly as any flag. And time 
was when I used to denounce young France because it tried to 
kill itself beneath my car -wheels ; and the fat old women who 
crossed roads without warning ; and the specially deaf old men 
who slept in carts on the wrong sidejof the road ! Now, I could 
take off my hat to every single soul of them, but that one cannot 
traverse a whole land bareheaded. " (France at woir ; Rudyard 
Kipling.) 

"... the saintliest labourers that aye 
Dropped sweat on soil for bread, took arms and tramped 
High-breasted to match men or elements. 
Or Fortune, harsh school-mistress with the undrilled ; 
War's ragged pupils ; many a wavering line. 
Torn from the dear fat soil of champaigns hopefully tilled. 
Torn from the motherly bowl, the homely spoon. 
To jest at famine, ply 

The novel scythe and stand to it on the field ; 
Lie in the furrows, rain-clouds for their tents ; 
Fronting the red artillery straighten spine ; 
Buckle the shiver at sight of comrades strewn ; 
Over an empty platter affect the merrily-filled ; 
Die, if the multiple hazards around say die ; 
Downward measure a foeman mightily sized ; 
Laugh at the legs that would run for a life despised ; 
Lyrical on into death's red roaring jaw-gape, steeled 
Gaily to take of the foe his lesson, and give reply. 
Cheerful apprentices, they shall be masters soon. " 
(G. Meredith, Odes in contribution to the Song of French History.) 

Books recommended : — Works of De Thou, Vauban, Turgot. — Henri See, 
Les Classes rurales en France au moyen age (Giard et Briere). — G. d'Avenel, 
Histoire economique de la propriete... depuis Van 1200 jusqu'en Van 1800 (Paris, 
1894-98, 4 vol.) ; Paysans et ouvriers depuis sept cents a/ns (Colin, 4 fr.). 



PERONNE 



P^RONNE. — Across the strategic region lying between 
Ardennes and sea, the sluggish Somme, with its wide marshes 
and pit-bogs, is second only to the Seine as a barrier. Peronne, 
built on a hill by the Somme, among marshes, always had strategic 
value. It was, before the war, a " place de guerre de deuxieme 
classe ". It was 
a complete and 
thriving little 
town as well. 
With a popula- 
tion of no more 
than 4,000 it pos- 
sessed a Civil 
Court, a Justice 
of the Peace, 
Councils of Com- 
merce and Agri- 
culture, a college, 
tanneries, sugar- 
factories , salt - 
works, and was a 
prosperous mar- 
ket for linen- 
cloth, lawns, 
woollens, leather, 
cattle, etc. 

Its old Castle of 
sandstone, partly 
used before the 
war as an arse- 
nal, was closely 
associated with 
our history. A 
Prankish Queen, 
whose name was 
given to a neigh- 
bouring village, 
Sainte -Radegon- 
de, erected it 
about 550 A. D. 
— Saint -Fursy, 
one of the mis- 



"^ibuterne PAchiet I\G^ .,.-;5=S?S^ 




3aume 


01 2 3 1- S km 


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Bataille de la Somme ; 


Ayanct rialisa par /es 
troupes franco angfaisics 
rjuillet-IO septtmlTWt^ 
msept-Woclobre fSSS 
lOoct. ■ IS novtmbrt nTTll 
1916 



Showing Bapaume and Peronne, just outside the area 
gained by the Battle of the Somme in 1916. 



sionaries of Picardy, built a church close by, in which he was 
buried ; his tomb became a place of pilgrimage ; a town soon 
spread around it, and a monastery rose by the old chateau. The 
Normans razed the town in 881. "But it was soon built again, and 
Charles III, one of the last Carolingians, died a prisoner in the 
Castle in 929. The Lord of Peronne who had made him prisoner 

- 189 - 



PERONNE 

rose against the newCapetian King, was besieged, captured, and 
hanged. In 1071, the place was "besieged again, and annexed to 
Picardy. After along war, the King of France was acknowledged 
liege of the cit3^ and gave it a charter in 1207. It was bought 
by Louis IX in 1266, and went to the King's son-in-law in 1409. 
The death of the King's daughter gave it back to the Crown in 
1422 ; but the treaty of Arras (1439) handed it to the Duke of 
Burgundy with the rest of the dower. It was bought again by 
Louis XI in 1463, besieged and taken by the Duke in 1465. With 
the hope of getting it back by transaction, Louis XI went to see 
the Duke in Peronne ; the Duke shut him up in the Castle, and ex- 
torted from him a high ransom. Louis went back to Paris mad 
with rage, and found his " good city " full of little cages from 
which starlings unceasingly repeated " Peronne ! Peronne ! " He 
had all the birds killed, and waited. At last in 1477, the Duke 
died, and Peronne was his... In 1536, Charles V of Spain besieged 
it violently, but in vain. In 1577, its Governor made it a strong- 
hold of the " Ligue " of the Guises, which was called at first 
" Ligue de Peronne " . The city refused to acknowledge Henry IV 
as King until he had abjured ; he was not admitted within its 
walls before 1594. In 1641, Louis XIII signed a treaty at 
Peronne with the deputies of two new provinces. In 1654, 
Turenne took refuge under its walls against Conde and the army 
of the " Fronde. " Four years later, its Governor offered it to 
the Spaniards ; the plot was discovered just in time by Mazarin. 
In 1 815, Louis XVIII thought of assembling an army in Peronne 
against the man from Elba. After Waterloo, Wellington besieged 
the place. It was besieged again in Dec. 1870 by the Prussians, 
Shelled for 3 weeks, and taken. 

Peronne possessed several monuments of interest, among which 
a splendid church partly " flamboyant ", partly " Renaissance ", 
and a town-hall of the xvith century. Its best-known building 
was its belfrey 118 feet high, dating from 1396. 

The Germans occupied Peronne from Sept. 1914 until March 18, 
191 7. The shattered walls of the church, a portion of the facade 
6f the town-hall, and two towers of the Castle, are practically 
all that is left of the martyred city. It was in Peronne that some 
insane superman left that bewildering inscription : " Don't be 
angry, just admire. " But surely, if destruction can be admirable, 
the Normans, who worked just as thoroughly without the help 
of modern explosives, must have been " hyper-supermen ". 
From the history of Peronne a Junker might learn that his ideals 
are rather out of date, and too easy to reach. The destruction of 
a town is a matter of a few hours, and lacks originality. It takes 
centuries, brains, and a few other things, to build up a civilization. 



-^ 190 -^ 



PHILOSOPHY 

PHILOSOPHY. — (By Interpreter J. Chkvalier, LL. D.) — 
Is France a philosophic nation ? — Many have answered in 
the negative, and confined to Greece and Germany the metaphy- 
sical mind. To those who admire German philosophy, one in 
which obscurity and intricacy often do service for depth, the 
French genius seems all too clear and full of common-sense to 
be capable of the bold speculations of metaphysics. 

Yet, if the contention of Bergson be true : that common-sense is 
the foremost faculty of the mind, the one that education should 
chiefly endeavour to foster, because it gives us an accurate view of 
things, then must France, an eminently reasonable nation, in 
whom are balanced with almost perfect harmony the " esprit de 
geometric " and the " esprit de finesse, " appear as an eminently 
philosophic nation, or rather, to be quite precise, as the veritable 
leader and teacher of the philosophic mind in modern times. 
Indeed no other nation in the modern world, not even discerning, 
practical England, has displayed such power in the creation of new 
ideas, and their dissemination. 

The characteristic faculties of the French genius are already in 
evidence in the thinkers of the Middle Ages : a lofty wisdom, the 
perfect poise of deduction and intuition, of love and will-power, 
appear in all our Doctors of Divinity of the University of Paris. 
All-embracing comprehension is manifest in the " Mirror of the 
World" of a Vincent de Beauvais no less than in the vast sym- 
bolism of our cathedrals ; it does not exclude, but fosters 
rather, bold original thought, as in Abailart. 

This fine harmony of the Middle Ages seemed all but destroyed 
by the men of the Renascence: Rabelais, Montaigne, Calvin, and 
the humanists in their train. But, less than a century after them, 
the confiict of the new principles with the enduring traditions gave 
birth to Descartes' masterly " Discours de la Methode" (1637), 
which founded modern philosophy, just as his " Geometrie Ana- 
lytique" (to which the " Discours " was but an introduction) 
founded modern mathematics. The " Discours " begins by 
asserting that common-sense (" le bon sens ") is the thing most 
equally distributed in the world ; then it lays down the rules of a 
definitive method of enquiry, and of a provisional moral philo- 
sophy ; then it rises from the certainty of individual existence 
(Cogito, ergo sum), to the certainty of a God, on whom all reality 
is based. The whole treaty is an admirable model of that broad 
and really human rationalism, which assigns their proper places to 
all things : to the data of science and those of internal experience, 
to ethics, to religion ; it allies a most independent intellectual 
eagerness with the practical wisdom of a man bent on action, and 
therefore to a large extent ready to lean on tradition. 

The influence of Descartes has been boundless, although some 
disciples distorted or narrowed their master's views. It created 
in Holland the pantheism of Spinoza, beyond the Rhine the mighty 

r- ;9X ^ 



PHILOSOPHY 

encyclopedical philosophy of Leibnitz (who wrote in French, so 
undoubtedly was French, at the time the language of philosophy), 
in France itself the deep idealism of Malebranche (" Recherche de 
la verite "), an Oratorian priest who developed Cartesianism on 
lines which Berkeley was to follow. 

At the same time as Descartes, the fertile soil of France gave 
birth to Pascal, the highest representative of our race. There is 
hardly one modern idea whose first indication or perfect expression 
cannot be found in the " Pensees, " the uncompleted monument 
of the great Jansenist and great scientist who had intended to 
devote his labours to an " Ajjologie de la Religion Chretienne " : 
the two infinites between which we live, the infinitely small and 
the infinitely great ; nature, and habit ; human justice ; the para- 
mount importance of internal evidence (" le cceur ") ; the three 
orders : bodies, minds, charity... all those intuitions are still as 
glowing to-day as was the heart that conceived them. 

Two generations later, France misunderstood or contemned 
Pascal ; while it narrowed down the generous rationalism of Des- 
cartes. After the age of belief came the age of universal doubt. 
Yet our xviiith century certainly deserves praise for its wide- 
reaching, deep-searching curiosity. Montesquieu, Voltaire, 
d'Alembert, Condillac, Condorcet, Lamarck, disciples or 
masters of the English, advocated a number of new living ideas, 
about tolerance, progress, origins of societies and of species, etc., 
which the men of the Revolution were to make popular. Mean- 
time, beside them, J. -J. Rousseau (a Swiss by birth), by the 
importance he gave to sentiment, was preparing romanticism, 
the revival of mysticism in the xixth century, and the Practical 
Reason of Kant. 

The xixth century, through the eclecticism of Victor Cousin 
and his disciples, tried to conciliate all doctrines by extracting 
" the soul of truth " of each of them. But it also produced original 
thinkers who resumed and renovated the great philosophical 
tradition. Maine de Biran, an admirable psychologist, as 
well as a powerful metaphysician, was the true originator (with 
the Scotch) of modern psychology, a science soon enriched by 
the subtle and accurate observation of experimenters such as 
Charcot. — Claude Bernard, in his " Introduction a la mede- 
cine experimentale, " set forth the rules of experimentation, and 
stated its possibilities and its limitations. — Auguste Comte 
founded positivism, a doctrine that influenced every idea of his 
age, and was elaborated by himself and Littr6 into a mystical 
" religion of mankind ". — Cournot was the renovator of 
probabilism, and a powerful encyclopedic mind ; his great works 
are to our age what the Summa of Saint Thomas was to the 
Middle Ages, and the " Discours " of Bossuet to the xviith 
century. 

Lastly, the great spiritualist school is represented in our days 
byBouTROUX andBERCSON. Boutroux has fought the dogmatism 

^ 193 — 



t^HILOSOPHY 

of science, by pointing out the contingency of the laws of nature, 
and has brought scientists (Henri Poincar^) to share his views. — 
Bergson, in a style gratefully admired by W. James, and with a 
wealth and depth of thought that has led to a variety of misin- 
terpretations, has based on a close criticism of science in the light 
of internal evidence, a vindication of the freedom of the individual, 
the immortality of the soul, and creation, and has further laid 
the foundations of a " metaphysique positive. " 

Some utterances of French thought illustrating the 
preceding Summary^ 

Montaigne (1533-1592). — If they say " I doubt ", they are 
instantly challenged to confess that they are sure at least of one 
thmg : their doubt. To say " I do not know " is just as self- 
contradictory. Wherefore I will stay by this interrogation : 
" What do I know ? ", which I bear as my motto, with a pair of 
scales in my coat of arms. — We never have any communication 
with real being, because all human nature is always in the 
mterval between birth and death. — It is credible that there 
should be laws in nature, but to us they are lost, so much does 
this fine human reason meddle with everything. — Laws have 
credit, not because they are just, but because they are laws... it 
is unsafe to trace them to their origins. — Reason is an intrument 
of wax and lead ; it can be stretched, bent, and adapted to any 
bias or measure. — To mock at philosophy, that indeed is philo- 
sophizing. — Emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mould, 
the desires of the former are as vain as our own, their power is 
greater ; the same appetites urge the elephant and the mite. — 
To philosophize is to learn how to die. 

Descartes (1596-1650). — The power to judge rightly and 
to distinguish true from false, which is properly called common- 
sense or reaon, is naturally equal in all men. — To seek after 
no other science but what I could find in myself or in the 
great book of the world. — I bethought myself that, the 
while I endeavoured to think of all things as unreal, it was una- 
voidable that I, who was thinking, should be real ; and, noticing 
that this truth, " I think, therefore I am, " was so firm and so 
assured that all the most extravagant suppositions of the scep- 
tics were not able to shake it, I judged that I might receive it 
as the first principle of that philosophy after which I was seeking. 
— I realized that I was some substance, the whole essence or nature 
of which was but to think; so that this " I ", that is to say the 
soul by which I am what I am, is entirely distinct from the body, 
nay is more easy to know than the body. — After the error of 
those who deny God, none is more likely to lead feeble minds 
astray from the road of virtue, than the conceit that the souls 
of beasts are of the same nature as ours, and that we need there- 
fore have no more hopes or fears for after this life than ants or 

SAILLENS _ igo J- 




PHILOSOPHY 

flies have. — The action by which God maintains the world 
at present is wholly the same as that by which He created it. 

Pascal (1623-1662). — Opinion is queen of the world, and 
force its tyrant. — "This dog is ours," said some poor children. 
" This is my place in the sun." Such are the beginning and the 
image of the usurpation of the whole earth. — All men hate one 
another naturally. — Self is hateful. — A very 
little comforts us, because a very little afflicts 
us. — Great and small suffer from the same 
accidents, the same vexations, the same pas- 
sions ; but the former are near the rim, the latter 
near the hub, of the wheel. — Time mends sorrows 
and quarrels, because we change, we are no 
longer the same persons. — Habit is second 
nature, and destroys first nature. I am very 
much afraid that this first nature may be but 
first habit. — We love the chase more than 
the capture. — All the unhappiness of man 
Pascal. comes from one cause, and that is being un- 

able to stay still in a room. — Csesar was too old, 
to play at conquering the world. The game might suit Augus- 
tus and Alexander ; they were young men. — Whoever desires 
to fathom the vanity of man, need but consider the causes and 
results of love. Its cause is a "I know not what " (Corneille) ; 
and its results are tremendous. This I know not what, so tri- 
fling that none can ascertain its nature, moves the whole earth, 
princes, armies, all the world. The nose of Cleopatra : had it 
been shorter, the whole face of the earth would have been diffe- 
rent. — Cromwell was about to ravage all Christendom ; the Royal 
family would have been lost, and his own forever powerful, had 
not a small grain of sand lodged in his ureter. Even Rome 
would have quaked before him, but this small gravel, which 
would have been nothing elsewhere, being placed just there, he 
died, his family was humbled, and the King restored. — One 
sees hardly anything just or unjust that does not change its quality 
when it changes its climate. Three degrees nearer the pole over- 
throws all jurisprudence. A meridian decides upon truth. A 
ludicrous justice indeed, to which a river or a mountain sets 
limits. Truth this side of the Pyrenees, error beyond them ! 
— Life is a dream, slightly less disconnected. 

What is man in Nature ? 'A mere nothing, if compared with 
the infinite : a whole, if compared with nothingness ; something 
half-way between all and nought. — Man is neither beast nor 
angel, and unfortunately, who tries to play the angel plays the 
beast. — Man is but a reed, the weakest being in nature, but he 
is a thinking reed. All our greatness consists in thinking. — Man 
is not worthy of God, but he is not unable to be made worthy 
of Him. — Man surpasses man infinitely. 

— 194 — 



PHILOSOPHY 

^'^ The heart feels that there are three dimensions in spac6 
and that numbers are infinite. Principles are felt ; propositions 
are inferred. It is the heart that feels God, not reason. — The 
infinite distance from bodies to minds is an image of the infinitely 
more infinite distance from minds to charity. All bodies, the 
firmament, the stars, the earth and its kingdoms, are worth less 
than the least of minds ; for the latter knows them all, and itself ; 
and the bodies, nothing. All the bodies together, and all the 
minds together, and all their productions, are worth less than 
the least working of charity. This belongs to an order infinitely 
higher. — There are three ways to belief : reason, habit, inspira- 
tion. We must open our minds to proofs, be strengthened by 
habit, but offer ourselves, through humiliations, to inspirations ; 
they alone can bring about the true and salutary result. — The 
ultimate effort of reason is to acknowledge that an infinity of 
things surpass it. Nothing is so conformable to reason than 
this denial of reason. — We are unable to prove, in spite of all 
dogmatism. We have an idea of truth, in spite of all scepticism. 
— Say what you please, you must admit that the Christian reli- 
gion has something wonderful in it. — That is because you were 
born a Christian. — Far from it ; I strive against it, for that very 
reason, lest the prevention might deceive me. Yet, although 
born within Christianity, I cannot help finding it wonderful. — 
I love poverty, because He loved it. — We should love only God, 
and hate only ourselves. — The streams of Babylon flow, and 
fall, and carry away. O holy Zion, where all is stable and nothing 
falls ! We should sit on the streams, neither beneath nor within 
them, but on them ; not stand, but sit : to be humble being 
sitting, and safe being on them. But our feet shall stand within 
thy gates, O Jerusalem. 

Malebranche. — The mind stands between God and the 
bodies. When it discovers some truth, or perceives things as 
they actually are, it sees them in the ideas of God. Therefore 
when a mind knows truth, it is united to God, it knows and 
enjoys God in some manner (1675). 

Montesquieu (1689-1755). — Laws are the necessary rela- 
tions deriving from the nature of things ; and in this sense all 
beings have their laws. — There is no liberty if the same man 
or the same body exerts all three of these powers : that of making 
the laws, that of executing public resolutions, and that of judg- 
ing the crimes, or adjusting the differences, of private persons. 

Voltaire (1694-1778). — • Liberty consists in depending on 
the laws only. — I shall always be persuaded that a clock proves 
a clock-maker and that the universe proves a God. ■ — Morality, 
being of God, unites all minds, and dogma, being of man, divides 
them. — If God has made us in his image, we have properly 
paid him back. — We want good ploughmen and good soldiers, 
good manufacturers, and as few theologians as possible. — Reli- 

— 195 — 



t^MlLOSOPHY 

giona are like the games of backgammon and chess : they cam6 
to us from the East. — A system that is not demonstrated is but 
an ingenious piece of folly. — • Systems are like rats, that can 
pass through a score of small holes, and at last find two or three 
that will not admit them. — As soon as you dig, you find an 
infinite abyss. We must admire and be silent. — Men are mad 
indeed, but churchmen take the lead. — A miracle to-day is 
mustard after meat. — The Pope is an idol, we have bound 
his hands, and we kiss his feet. — Of all the systems that men 
have invented about God, which am I going to embrace, then ? 
None, except that of adoring him. 

" And, " said Candide, " we must cultivate our garden. " 

Helvetius — Ethics should be studied as a sort of experi- 
mental physics (1758). 

J. -J. Rousseau ■ — All things are good, when coming from 
the hands of the Maker ; they all degenerate in the hands of man. 

— Conscience, conscience ! thou divine instinct, thou immortal 
heavenly voice, thou sure guide of an ignorant limited being... 
(1762). 

Condorcet. — The perfectibility of man is really indefi- 
nite (1789). 

Maine de Biran. — Self is felt ; it is felt as a /ree power, 
asserting itself in effort (1813). 

Auguste Comte. — The fundamental revolution, charac- 
teristic of the virility of our intelligence, essentially consists in 
substituting at all points for the inaccessible determination of 
the causes of things, the simple research of their laws. — Live 
for others. — Mankind numbers more of the dead than of the 
living. — The great political and moral crisis of present day 
societies is due to intellectual anarchy. — For the new philoso- 
phy, order is the fundamental condition of progress, and in- 
versely progress becomes the necessary object of order (1844). 

Claude Bernard. — With the help of the active experi- 
mental sciences, man becomes a veritable foreman of creation. 

— Life is creation : what properly belongs to life, what belongs 
neither to chemistry nor physics, nor to anything else, is the 
guiding idea of that vital evolution (1865). 

Taine. — Vice and virtue are products, like sugar and vitriol ; 
all complex data arise from the conjunction of other original 
data, on which they depend (1863). 

Renan. — A nation is a soul (1871). — Gods pass away as 
men do, and it were not fit that they should be eternal (1883). 

Pasteur. — The infinite, eternal source of all greatness, all 
justice, and all liberty. — Looking above, learning beyond, 
trying to rise always (1883). 

— 196 — 



POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 

Renouvier. — The aim of man is the perfection of his nature. 
— Perfection is identical with happiness. — It is given to no 
man to save himself or lose himself alone ; no man is good enough, 
intelligent enough, nor happy enough, as long as other men are 
suffering. (" Manuel Repiibhcain de I'Homme et du Citoyen. ") 

Bavaisson. — Materiality induces forgetting. 

Lachelier. — The world is a thought that does not think 
itself, and hangs on a thought that does (1871). 

Boutroux. — Necessity rests on contingency. — The laws 
of nature are its habits (1874). 

Le Roy. — Science is valuable as a conquest, but not as an 
explanation (1899). — Truth is life; any veritable certainty is 
a faith (1904). 

Duhem. — The physical theory is not an explanation. A 
law of physics is a symbolical relation j it is properly speaking 
neither true nor false ; being an approximation, it is provisional 
and relative (1906). 

Henri Poincare. — Thought is but a flash of lightning in 
the depth of a long night. But that flash is everything. — 
There can be no scientific morals : if the premises of a syllogism 
are both in the indicative mood, the conclusion will be in the 
indicative also (1910). 

Bergson. — We call intuition the particular intellectual 
sympathy by which we transfer ourselves inside an object and 
coincide with what is unique and therefore unutterable in it. 
This intuition is the absolute. Metaphysics could be defined 
integral experience (1903). — Our body is an instrument for 
action, and for action only. — That there is a link between con- 
sciousness and the brain is not to be denied ; but there is a link 
between an article of clothing and the nail on which it hangs. 
Shall we say, on the strength of this, that the shape of the nail 
designs the shape of the coat ? — Conscience is synonymous 
with invention and liberty. — The animal leans on the plant ; 
man rides animality ; and all mankind, through space and time, 
is one countless host gallopping at the side of each of us, before 
and behind us, in an impelling charge, which can break down 
every resistance, and overcome many an obstacle, including 
perhaps death itself (1907). 

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. — In January 1790, six months 
after the taking of the Bastille, the " Constituante " replaced a 
very awkward system of 32 unequal " Gouvernements " , overrun 
by a maze of local or obsolete organisms, by one central adminis- 
tration, in direct touch with the administrative and political 
machinery of fairly equal divisions : the " Departements ' (See : 
" Ddparfements "). 

— 197 — 



POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 

Every "Departement" is divided into "Arrondissements",a.nA 
each of these again into" Cflw^ows". A "CosMiow" consists of several 
"Communes". France comprises: 86 " Departements " ; 362 " Av- 
rondissements" ; 2,915 "Cantons " ; 36,295 "Communes ". The 
administrative centre of the Departement, Arrondissement, or 
Canton, is called " Chef -lieu. " 

The nation is a republic ; all laws are framed and passed by 
elected representatives of the citizens ; and there is no other 
authority in the land but those laws. Every male citizen, at 
21 years of age, has one vote, unless he is on active military 
service ; at 25, any citizen is eligible to the Chamber of Deputies ; 
at 40, to the Senate. 

Government is in the hands of three powers : 

a) Legislative : Deputies and Senators. 

b) Executive : President ; Cabinet ; local administrators. 

c) Judiciary .■ The various Courts, and the Police. 

a) There are about 530 "Deputes" (i per 100,000 inhab. or 
fraction over, in each Arrondissement), who come for total direct 
re-election once every four years ; and 300 " Senateurs ", elected 
for nine years, i /3 of the House coming for indirect re-election 
every three years. Every seven years, the two Houses, which 
usually sit in Paris, adjourn to the Palace of Versailles, to elect (or 
re-elect) the President by secret vote. 

b) The President appoints the Ministers ; he is entitled, though 
he regularly avoids such conflicts, to nominate or maintain them 
against a vote of Parliament. The Ministers are about twelve. 
Administration, execution of the laws, and political supervision, 
are ensured by Government nominees, who may be recalled at 
any time : the " Prefets " (one per Department), and the " Sous- 
prefets " (one per Arrondissement). 

c) Judiciary power belongs to magistrates permanently appoint- 
ed by the President, through the Justice Secretary. We have : 

I Justice of the Peace in every Canton, 
I Civil and Police Court in every Arrondissement, 
I Assize Court per Departement, 
26 Courts of Appeal, 
I Supreme Court in Paris, the " Cour de Cassation ", whose 
function it is to quash (" casser ") any sentence not 
given in conformity with the letter of the law. 
There are no circuit-judges. The oath is not religious. The 
poor are entitled to the services of a barrister free of charge. A 
defendant may refuse to answer any question in the absence of his 
counsel. 

The local political machinery of the various units is as follows : 

Every Commune (parish) has a " Conseil Municipal" , elected 

by the citizens ; the Conseil appoint some of themselves as 

— 198 — 



POPULATION AND DEPOPULATION 

" Maire " (Mayor) and " adjoints ". No councillor or mayol 
receives any salary or fee. 

In the Arrondissement , Government is represented by the 
"Sous-Prefet", and the people by the "Conseil d' Arrondissement" 

Every Departement is under a " Prefet " and a "Conseil de 
Prefecture" (nominees of Government), assisted by the "Conseil 
General" (elected by the citizens). 

' Paris is an exceptional unit. It is divided into 20 Arrondisse- 
ments each consisting of 4 " Quartiers " , and numbered in a spiral, 
starting from the centre. Ksich. "Arrondissement" has its own 
Mayor and Council. For the whole city, there is a general "Conseil 
Municipal", of 80 members (i per " Quartier "); they belong ipso 
facto to the "Conseil General" for the Departmentof Seine. They 
receive a salary. 

Two important bodies help in the administration of the country. 
The "Conseil (i'£^ai", whose members are appointed for life, partly 
by the Government, partly through public competition, is the 
legal adviser of Government, the supreme authority in interpre- 
tation of laws, and in all suits of citizens against the State. 

The "Cour des Com^^es", another bodyofpermanentofhcials, sees 
that the funds expended by the various State Departments have 
been expended in conformity with the votes of Parliament. 

The legislative machine dates from 1875 ; the executive and 
judiciary have changed but little since Napoleon. 

Books recommended. — Poudra et Pierre, Organisation des pouvoirs publics 
(Paris, 1881). — P. Leroy-Beaulieu, L'F.tat moderne. — Boutmy, Etudes de droit cons- 
iitutionnel (Colin, 3 fr. 50). — Em. Faguet, Problemes politiques du temps present (Colin, 
3 fr. 50). — G. Hanotaux, Histoire de la France contemporaine (Combet, 3 vol., 10 fr., 
eacli). — Bodley, France (Macmillan). 

Poincare, How France is governed. Transl. by Bernard Miall. (T. Fisher Unwin, 
1913). — Davis (M.), Political History of France, 178^ to igio (Clarendon Press, 
2 s. 6 d.) 



POPULATION AND DEPOPULATION. — A census of the popu- 
lation is taken every 5 years. The last one, in 191 1, gave a 
total of 39,600,000 (cf : Russia; 150 millions; Germany: 65. 
U. K. : 45). 

The density of the population is therefore 73 per sq. kil. 
(Belgium : 255 ; Holland : 176 ; U. K. , 144 ; Italy : 121 ; Germany: 
120; U. S. A. : 11; Argentine: 2). But 73 is an average: the 
density varies very much with the economic resources ; in the 
Nord Department, it is 300 per sq. kil. 

The birth-rate is only 20 per 1,000 (Germ. : 34 ; Austria : 38 ; 
Russia : 49). The death-rate is very nearly the same. Both 
rates are declining ; the death-rate more rapidly. For the total 
period 1901-1911, our total increase had been 640,000. Russia 
increases yearly by 1,500,000. 

— 199 — 



POPULATION AND DEPOPULATION 

In 1700, Vauban estimated the population of France at 
19,000,000. (our standing army at the time numbered 400,000). 

About 1789, Necker's estimate was 25,000,000 

First regular census (Napoleon, 1800), gave. . . 27,445,000 

In 1870, just before the war, we had 38,000,000 

The loss of Alsace-Lorraine reduced us to . . . 36,100,000 
Therefore, we have slowly regained since 1871 : 3.5 millions; 
Germany grew by 23 millions in the same lapse of time. 

Emigration makes us lose no more than 15,000 people a year 
(Germ. : 50,000 ; U. K. : 300,000 ; Russia : 400,000 ; Italy : over 
I million). Immigration gives us yearly about 30,000 new 
inhabitants. The census of 1911 numbered 1,132,000 foreigners, 
of whom 50 % were Belgians, and 25 % Italians. 

In France, as in the rest of Europe, cities grow faster than the 
country, and at their expense, but with us these increases are very 
slow on the whole. We have only 15 cities numbering more than 
100,000 (U. K. has 38 ; Germ, has 41). 

In 1790, only 22 % of our population lived in towns ; 
in 1850, » 25 % » » » » 

in 191 1, » 40 % » » » » 

whereas in Germany the rural population has declined from 70 "^ 
in 1840 to 33 % in 1901, and in U. K. the rural population is 
only 23 % of the total (France : 60 %). 

The above figures show that we gain about 64,000 inhabitants a 
year. Therefore it is inaccurate to say that our population de- 
clines. Our birth-rate does, which is bad enough. It was 30 per 
1,000 in 1800, 26 in i860. But we do not suffer as yet from 
depopulation properly so-called. Another point to be borne in 
mind is that this decline of our birth-rate has been slower and 
slower for several years, and the rate has now come to be almost 
invariable ; whereas in Germany, England, Scotland, the birth- 
rate, although higher than our own for the present, has been 
declining far more rapidly than ours for a good many years. 

Yet, this very low birth-rate, more insufficient than ever now, is 
(with alcoholism) the most ominous feature of our national life ; 
less than any other nation can we afford to be weak. 

What causes are responsible for that decrease of births ? Alco- 
holism is one of them ; the desire for an easy life, the decline of 
religious discipline, the employment of women in offices and factor- 
ies, certain diseases, late marriage owing to military service, are 
all against natural increase ; yet they are not characteristic of our 
country, and fail therefore to account for its exceptional con- 
dition. 

One great factor, more powerful in France than anywhere else, 
but seldom denounced because of its very popularity, is the pas- 
sion of the French for equality. All children, boys and girlg 

— 200 — 



POPULATION AND DEPOPULATION 

alike, are entitled in France to equal shares of their parents 
property. The daughters receive their portion, or a first instal- 
ment of it, on the dayoftheirmarriage (see "Doi"). Law, custom, 
parental affection, all work in the same direction. The tendency 
of French parents is therefore to ensure their children a maximum 
of comfort, and to their life-work a maximum of permanency, by 
dividing their property equally between a minimum of children. 

Even a fairly prosperous farmer cannot share his land equally 
between four or five children without leaving behind him as many 
poor labourers with as many scraps of land. And he could not 
bequeath his property to the eldest without " robbing " the 
others ; so he believes, and so says the law which he himself has 
made. 

Therefore numerous families are scarce in the middle classes ; 
only the very rich and the very poor can afford to have them. But 
the very rich and the very poor are rare among us. We call a 
" millionnaire " a person who has i million francs ($ 200,000) ; 
on the other hand, you seldom see in France a child going bare- 
footed, unless it be for his pleasure. Equality again. The differ- 
ences in fortunes are not very great, and every one has a fair 
chance of catching up with the man just above him, with labour, 
and economy. It cannot be said that such a condition is bad, 
since we have made several revolutions to reach it, and all 
civilized nations tend in the same direction; and yet, one certain 
consequence is the restriction of births. 

_ Le Play proposed that, without reviving the absolute birth- 
right of the eldest son, the law should allow a father to bequeath 
his property as he pleased. 

Another remedy has been suggested, and there is a tendency to 
recognize its merits, and gradually to apply it. Since a child is for 
many years a burden on its parents, while it is destined to add to 
the capital of the nation, why should not the nation, in one or 
several ways, compensate the individuals for their labour, and 
her gain ? Fixed premiums could be given for every birth, and 
small annuities for every child, special premiums being further 
possible when the child had passed certain examinations, or mas- 
tered certain crafts, thus proving his worth as a national capital... 

Books lecommended. — E. Levasseur, La Population fraiifaise (Paris, Rousseau, 
3 vol., 1889-92). — Le Play, his works, and publications of his disciples in Revue 
de science sociale ; especially : La Reforme sociale en France (Tours, Mame, 4 vol.). — • 
Jacques Bertillon, Works on Statistics, Depopulation (Mean); Alcoholism (Lecoffre).^ 
Paul Bureau, La Crise morale des temps presents. — Galeot, L'Avenir de la race (Nou- 
velle Librairie Nationale). — Worms, Natalite et regime successoraHJP 3.yot, 3 fr. 50), 

Meline (F.-G.), The return to the land. 



— 201 — 



POSTAL SERVICE 

POSTAL SERVICE. — Inland rates have been raised 50 % for 
letters and cards, and 33 % for telephones and telegrams, since 
Jan. I, 1917, but correspondence to and from troops at the 
front has been postage-free ever since 1914. Postal rates are at 
present : 

Inland. Foreign. 
Letters (20 grammes onh') Fr. 0,15 0,25 

(inland mails : o fr. lo for next 30 gr. , then o fr. 05 
for every addit. 50 gr. ; max. weight : i kil. ; 
foreign : o fr. 20 fir next 20 gr. then o fr. 15 for 
every addit. 20 gr. ; no max.). 

Post-cards (incl. of stationery) 0,15 0,10 

illustr. (address only) .... 0,05 0,05 

(address & 5 words) . 0,10 

Letter-cards (incl. of stationery) .... 0,15 0,25 

Express messages in Paris : " pneuma- 

tiques " 0,40 

Telephone calls in Paris (3 minutes) ... 0,20 

Telegrams (inland minim, of 10 words). 0,65 

" to U. K. per word 0,20 

to U. S. A. (New York) per 

word 1,25 

Money can be wired between France 
and U. K. to the amount of i.ooo fr. 

France has 13,000 post-offices (36,000 towns and villages) ; 
16,000 public telegraphs ; 219,000 telephones. 

Shortly before the war the average number of letters, cards, 
wires, and parcels, sent yearly by every Frenchman was : 60 ; the 
corresponding figures in other countries were : Germany : 122 ; 
U. S. A. : 108 ; IJ. K. : 102 ; Russia : 8 ; Austria : 42 ; Italy : 26. 

French cables run to England, Canada, U. S. A., Corsica, Alge- 
ria, and French West Africa. Wireless telegraphy connects 
France with several countries, including North Africa. 

. War has reduced our postal staff by 10,000 units. This reduced 
personnel has had to deal with such an enormously increased 
traffic that, in spite of the gratuity and abundance of military 
correspondence, the increase in receipts from postal and telegra- 
phic services, in 191 7, has been £ 4,000,000 (20 million dollars) 
over former years. 

Parcel-post (Colis postaux) (handed in at Railw. Station). 

inland up to 3 kilos delivered at station. . . 0,60 

» 3 » home delivery 0,85 

3 to 5 » station 0,80 

3 » 5 » home delivery 1,05 

5 » 10 » station 1,25 

5 » JO » home 1,50 

— 202 — 



PROVINCES 

New York U. K. 

U. K. and up to 3 lbs. (i kil. 360) . . 2, » 1,25 

U. S. A. up to 3 kilos 3,25 1,50 

up to 5 kilos 4,15 2, » 

PROVINCES. — It is generally supposed that the " Provinces " 
were all brutally suppressed by one stroke of the pen at the time 
of the Revolution ; this being given in most cases as a proof of the 
rashness of the measures taken at the time. 

It is quite true that the Revolution introduced drastic changes 
in the administration of the land (see: Political Org.): it did sup- 
press the " Gouvernements " , but it neither tried nor wished to 
destroy the indestructible, or at any rate very slow-dying distinc- 
tions in physical structure, temperament, dialect, manners, 
customs, costumes, that marked certain regions from others. 

Some " Gouvernements " coincided with " Provinces " , and the 
latter in some cases owed their characteristics to natural condi- 
tions : Brittany, Corsica, Dauphine, are instances in point. But, 
in most cases, the distinctions and the groupings were irrational and 
simply stood in the way of national unification, for no valid reason. 
For instance, what reasons, except quite obsolete ones, could be 
given for distinguishing officially Artois from Picardy ? Their 
soil, population and history are practically the same. On the 
other hand, Orleanais, Auvergne, Languedoc, etc., extended over 
regions differing largely in climate, productions, populations, dia- 
lects, manners, etc. The accidents of war and feudal succession 
had made them, and their apparent unity often was of recent date. 

As the nation had progressed generally and toward unity, the 
old Gaulish clans and tribes had coalesced into Duchies, Counties, 
etc., those had constituted, singly, or jointly, the various Pro- 
vinces ; those again, singly or jointly, had come to be adminis- 
tered by the kings as " Gouvernements ". But the progress of the 
national unity could not halt there. The Revolution simply 
carried on the work of the declining dynasty, and achieved fur- 
ther political unity, because the time had come for it. Neither the 
Revolution, nor the Republican governments were really bent on 
destroying what did not impede general progress. Many Bretons, 
to the present day, cannot speak French ; old measures, weights, 
names of coins, survive everywhere with the old dialects, local 
dish»s, local songs... 

A Frenchman will still say with pride, or at least affection, that 
he is a " Champenois", or a" Vendeen". The name of his Depart- 
ment interests him so far as the G. P. O., the tax-collector, or the 
elections are concerned ; but he calls his native Province, or, 
when a Parisian, the Province of his parents, his " petite patrie " 
(the little father-land). A large number of associations work 
in various ways for the revival or the maintenance of provincial 
traditions ; there is a movement on foot in favour of a new dis- 

— 303 — 



PROVINCES 

tribution of France that would more or less combine the Depart- 
ments and the Provinces of old (in so far as the latter really repre- 
sented natural areas), by creating " Economic Regions ". 

The following list gives the names of the old " Gouvernements" ; 
their capitals ; the mode and date of the first annexation of their 
principal portion (several of them had to be conquered again 
and again) ; and their positions on the map. (See also Index.) 



32 MAIN 

« GODVERNEMENIS » 


Capitals 


Origins 


Dates & Kings. 


Situations 


Ile-de- France. . . 

Orl^anais 

Herri 


Paris. 

Orleans. 

Bourges. 

Arras. 

Amiens. 

Rouen. 

Tours. 

Le Mans. 

Angers. 

La Rochelle. 

Saintes. 

Toulouse. 

Troyes. 

Lille. 

Lyon. 

Grenoble. 

Limoges. 

Poitiers. 

Bordeaux. 

Perpignan. 

Aix. 

Dijon. 

Rennes. 

Moulins. 

Clerm.-Ferr. 

Gueret. 

Nevers. 

Pau. 

Foix. 

Strasbourg. 

Besangon. 

Nancy. 


Original. 

d" 
Purchased. 
Inherited. 

d" 
Confiscated. 

d° 

d" 

d" 
Conquered. 

d° 

d» 
Marriage. 
Conquered. 
Ceded. 
Purchased. 
Conquered. 

d° 

d" 

d° 
Inherited. 

d" 
Marriage. 
Confiscated. 

d° 

d» 

d» 
Inherited. 

do 
Conquered. 

d" 
Inherited. 


987. Hugues Capet 

987. d° 
1060. Philippe I". 
1180. Philippe II. 
1180. d" 
1204. d" 
1204. d° 
1204. d" 
1204. d" 
1224. Louis VIII. 
1224. d" 
1226. d" 
1285. Philippe IV. 
1304. d° 
1313. d" 
1349. Philippe VI. 
1371. Charles V. 
1371. d" 
1453. Louis XL 
1474. d" 

1481. d" 

1482. d" 

1491. Charles VIII. 
1527. Francois I" 
1527. d° 
1527. d" 
1527. d» 
1589. Henri IV. 
1589. d" 
1648. Louis XIV. 
1678. d" 
1766. Louis XV. 


N. 
C. 
C. 

N 


PiCARDIE 

Normandie 

Touraine 

Maine 

Anjou 


N. 

N. W. 

C. 

N. W. 

W. 


AUNIS 


w 


Saintonge 

Languedoc 

Champagne 

Flandres 

Lvonnais ....... 

Dauphine 

Limousin 

PoiTOU 


w. 
s. w. 

N. W. 

N. 

E. C. 

S. E. 

C. 

W. 


GUYENNE 

ROUSSILLON 

Provence 

bourgogne 

Bretagne 

bourbonnais .... 

AuVERGNE 

Marche 


s. w. 
s. w. 

S. E. 
E. 
W. 
C. 

c. 
c. 


Nivernais 

Bearn 

Gomte de Foix . . 
Alsace 


c. 

s. w. 
s. w. 

E. 


Franche-Comte. 
Lorraine 


E. 
E. 



8 Minor « Gouvernements ». 

Paris. 

Metz & Verdun, conquered 1552. 

TouL d" 

Sedan ceded 1642. 

Saumur. 

Corsica purchased 1768. 

Boulogne. 

Le Havre. 

Jo these should be added : "Savoie" and" Comtede Nice", ceied in i86oby Piemont 
— 204 — 



"Otr ARTIER LATlM^^ 

Books recommended : — Ardomn-D\iTa,aet,Voyage en France (Berger-Levrault, 
3 fr. 50 a vol.). — Berlet, Les Provinces au xm'^ sUcle, et leur division en departemenh 
(Bloud). — Cellerier, La Politique federaliste (Nouvelle Librairie Nationale, 3 fr.) 

Also, the novels of Fabre (F.), Cevennes. — Cladel, Pouvillon, Cahors district. 

P. Arene, Provence. — Renard (J.), Nevers district. — Theuriet, Woodland, and 
provincial ways, especiaUy in the East. — Boylesve, Touraine — Bazin, Vendee, 
Alsace. — Le Braz, Le Goffic, Brittany. 

Peixotto (E.-C), Through the Fiench Provinces. 

''• QU ARTIER LATIN. " — The name still given to a part of 
Paris which has been the home of French learning for 900 years. 
In the Middle Ages, all schoolmen spoke Latin, hence the name 
given to the district reserved to them at the time ; the use of 
Latin as a medium of conversation was all the more necessary in 
the University of Paris, as the proportion of our foreign students 
has always been high. The " Quartier Latin " in mediaeval times 
numbered from 15 to 20,000 students from all parts of France 
and Europe. Among them were Dante, Albertus Magnus, 
Roger Bacon, Duns Scot and Thomas Aquinas. 

The founders of our University were some learned clerics of 
Notre-Dame, who taught, as early as the xith century, whoever 
wished to hear them. They lectured either in the open air, or in 
some small room littered with straw, close by the church that 
preceded the present cathedral. Abailart was the most famous 
teacher of that early period. 

In 1200, the masters decided to leave the narrow island of the 
" Cite " and settle just outside the town, on the hill of Sainte- 
Genevifeve. Philippe-Auguste organized them into a regular 
guild, reserving to himself certain rights, and granting them 
certain privileges, among which was a power of jurisdiction over 
a large part of the left bank the Seine. There proper colleges for 
masters and students were built, the organization of the ear- 
liest of them, the Sorbonne (1250), being adopted by Oxford 
and Cambridge. Certain colleges were reserved to certain 
" nations " ; there was the " honourable nation of Gaul, " the 
" venerable nation of Normandy, " the " most loyal nation of 
Picardy, " the " most constant nation of the English, " etc. The 
students from Italy, Spain, Egypt, Syria, Persia, and Armenia, 
all belonged to the Nation of Bern (Bourges). There was a special 
" College des Escossois " ; a small street still bears its name. 

In the absence of a Parliament, the University soon became the 
most powerful association in the Realm, an institution that guided 
the Kings in many matters and many ways, especially in their 
contests against the High Clergy, and Rome. Later, that great 
power was abused by the clique of narrow pedants established at 
the Sorbonne, whom Rabelais fought savagely under cover of his 
wild novels. 

We have no colleges or hostels now (see : Instruction) ; also 
theology has been banished from the home of science. Our 

— 205 — 



RACES AND NATIONALITIES 

University buildings now consist of lecture-halls, examination 
rooms, and libraries. 

The most important is the Sorbonne, a new building standing on 
the site of the college founded under Saint Louis by a cleric born of 
very poor folk, in the village of Sorbon. Its chapel, built by 
Richelieu, (and containing his tomb) is now a parish-church. 
The Sorbonne is the home of the Faculty of Letters (3,107 
students), and of the Faculty of Sciences (1,793 students). The 
Faculty of Medicine (4,435), the Faculty of Law (7,822), and 
the School of Pharmacy (672), are all in the neighbourhood, as 
well as the special High Schools (" Normale " , " Poly technique ", 
"Mines" , " Coloniale", etc.). The School of Arts is on the 
same bank of the Seine, but some distance away. 

The above figures are those of 1913. On a moderate estimation, 
Paris has 20,000 students, i /5 of whom are foreigners, i /3 of the 
latter being women. 

Books recommended. — A. Luchaire, VUniversUi de Paris sous Philippe- Augusie 
(Paris, 1899). — • Henri Murger, Seines de la vie de Boheme. — A. Musset, Frederic 
et Bernerette. 

H. Rashdall, Ths Universities oj Europe in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1895, 3 vol.). 

RACES AND NATIONALITIES. — English actors and cartoonists 
have adopted a certain typical caricature of the Frenchman ; 
they represent him as a stoutish middle-sized man, with dark 
hair, heavy moustache and pointed beard, talkative and gay, 
easily excitable, and usually harmless. The caricature is quite 
legitimate, as this type of man does exist in France, and is not 
so common in other countries ; while the other French types are 
too similar to one or another of our foreign neighbours to be 
distinctive, as a caricature must be. 

Yet, if one were to ask what is the proportion of Frenchmen of 
that type, the only possible answer would be that the mental and 
moral elements of the picture are far more common among us than 
the physical. We have plenty of people who are not portly, 
because they are not forty ; plenty that are tall, fair, and muscular, 
because they are pure Norsemen, etc., and yet although certain 
differences in morale accompany the differences in physique, it is 
true that most Frenchmen are cheerful and voluble, and easily 
provoked, while free from malice. The moral and mental affini- 
ties of the various members of the French family could be further 
elaborated, but it is equally interesting to quote a passage of 
Strabo (ist century A. D.) which proves how the physique has 
changed, while the morale is very much what it was — due allow- 
ance being made for the differences between a primitive and a 
civilized society. 

" All the nations belonging to the Gallic race are madly fond of 
war, excitable and apt to come to blows, yet simple and devoid of 
malice ; upon the least provocation, they collect in numbers, and 

— 206 — 



RACES AND NATIONALITIES 

rush to the fray, but quite openly, and without any circ unispec- 
tion, so that device and miUtary art outdo them promptly. You 
have but to provoke them, when and where you please, and on the 
most futile occasion, you always find them ready to answer the 
call, and ignore danger, even if they should have no other arms 
but their strength and their courage. On the other hand, if you 
use persuasion, you can easily induce them to act wisely, as is 
proved by their present application to the study of letters and 
eloquence. Their strength is due partly to their physique, as the 
Gauls are all very tall men, but partly also to their great numbers. 
As to their aptness to gather in force to fight, it is due to 
their open generous nature, which causes them to resent an 
injury done to a neighbour as if they had suffered it themselves, 
and to side with the victim. At present however, those people 
being subjected to the Romans, have to obey their masters in all 
things, and live amongst themselves in perfect peace. " (Strabo, 
Book IV, Ch. IV.) 

There would seem to be, either in the soil and climate of the 
land, or in the spiritual prevalence of one race over all others, an 
influence which has preserved mental and moral unity in France in 
spite : I. of the lapse of years ; 2. of the admixture of other races. 

There is little doubt that the climate and soil (with all they 
imply, as for instance, food, wine, etc.) have had an enormous 
influence. Almost any man soon feels at home in France ; there- 
fore he " lets himself go, " and as a consequence is soon adapted. 
(The same phenomenon is notable in U. S. A. Compare, as an 
extreme opposite case, the strenuousness with which an English- 
man in India will fight the local influences, and remain strictly 
English. ) In the second place, the importance of invasions, ethnic- 
ally, must not be over-rated. The fundamental stock has remain- 
ed very much what it was. 

These general considerations will be partly borne out, partly 
supplemented, by the following brief notices on the several Races 
and Nationalities represented to-day within our frontiers. 

Iberians. — These men are short in stature, have a long, 
narrow skull, dark eyes, hair and skin. They used to extend over 
Europe, which they had entered probably from Africa ; they 
were gradually driven westward by various invaders, and now 
survive in Ireland, parts of W. England, S.-E. Wales, W. of 
Scotland, S.Brittany, W. andS.-W. France, and throughout Spain, 
which bore their name in Roman times. 

When Caesar conquered Gaul, he found them between the 
Pyrenees and the Garonne. The men of the plains, many of 
whom were not Iberians, sooned learned Latin, and are now the 
Gascons ; the men of the mountains were of purer stock, and 
preserved their language. They are called the Basques 
(Gascon, Basque, Viscaya, Biscay, Vasco de Gama, are all 
variants of the same word). 

— 207 — 



^ACES AND NAtlONALltiEg 

The Gascons are known for their wits, and for hving by them. 
Henri IV was proud to be one. Bernadotte, who rose from private 
soldier to king, was a Gascon. The Gascon has a repu- 
tation for doing clever things and being very brave, and then 
spoiling it all by bragging about it. He spins enormous yarns 
(" gasconnades " ) , sometimes with a laugh; he does not wish to 
deceive you really, still less to extort anything from you ; he just 
" fancies " things for the sake of giving full play to his imagination 
and eloquence ; he is perfectly clear-sighted all the time ; what 
may surprise or shock the stolid Northerner, to him is merely 
harmless fun. He is an artist ; the true successor, and in some 
cases the lineal descendant of the cave-dwellers who drew those 
wonderful mammoths ; and he is an orator... Democracy is 
the hot-bed of oratory : the Northern Frenchman who merely 
" does things " and cannot talk, often finds himself at the mercy 
of Iberian politicians... (so he says, at any rate...). 

The Basques call themselves in their mysterious language 
" Euscaldunac " , the deft-handed men. They are indeed excel- 
lent sailors, fighters, and farmers, good business men, and wise 
politicians. Being probably the finest fishermen in the world, 
they were masters at whaling long ago, and the whale led them 
as far as America, which they discovered long before Columbus. 
Many of them to-day work South American farms in winter-time; 
and their own in summer. 

Their language they call " euskara " ; it is now no longer related 
to any other on earth, being probably the only survivor of the 
dialects spoken by the cave-dwellers. The Basques say that the 
devil once tried to learn euskara, and came to live among them 
for the purpose. After a few months he was able to say the word 
for " No " ; then he went on to learn how to say " Yes. " In an- 
other few months he had succeeded ; but he found then, to his 
dismay, that he had forgotten the word for " No... " and left ! 

The Basques are lively, and dance beautifully, to instruments of 
their own. They have a national game : the " pelote ". They 
are as clean and hardworking as they are religious. 

Voltaire flippantly defined them : " a little nation that dances at 
the top of the Pyrenees. " 

Both Gascons and Basques are temperant, frugal and wiry. 

Celts. — Sturdy men, with a round skull, and a coloration 
intermediate between the dark Iberian complexion and the white 
skin of the Scandinavians, madly brave, restless, careless, adapt- 
able and chivalrous, the Celts occupied, at the time of Csesar's 
conquest, the region between the Seine and the Garonne, and 
shared with Low-Germanic tribes the land from Seine to Rhine. 

Most Celts learned Latin very soon ; some of them became dis- 
tinguished poets in the new tongue ; others taught rhetoric in 
Rome ; they accepted Roman rule and most Roman customs only 
too readily and speedily. But Roman rule did not affect the 

— 208 — 



flAGES AND nationalities 

physiology or the temperament of the race ; the conquerors occu- 
pied Gaul as sparsely as the British occupy India : the Roman 
colonists were no more than 30,000 ; 3,000 men were enough to 
garrison the land ; the rest of the forces (100,000) were all on the 
N.-E. frontier. Roman influence was merely mental and political, 
at least outside the old Provincia (S.-E.). The strong love of the 
Gaul for personal independence, and equality, his rebellious 
envious tendency, therefore, could not but survive, however com- 
bated by the tradition of order and discipline handed down by the 
Romans. Hence the frequent conflicts between the French- 
man's instinct and his brain, his manners and his institutions, etc. 

A fresh Celtic stock was imported into Brittany from Britain 
in the vth century. 

Brittany and Auvergne, two parts of France which are poor, and 
out of the way of invasions, have remained very Celtic to this day ; 
the stock is purer in Auvergne , but the traditions have survived 
better in Brittany. 

Indeed the similarity between Brittany and the Scottish High- 
lands is curious. Bag-pipes, local differences in dress, devotion to 
the head of the clan, bhnd, entire sacrifice to a hopeless royal cause, 
a marked tendency to mysticism, are well-known traits of Breton 
life, history, and soul... to say nothing of a remarkable capacity 
for the absorption of strong fluids, and a genuine love of fighting ! 
Francis I had decreed that any Breton found drunk for the 
second time would lose both his ears at the hands of the execu- 
tioner ; the decree might have affected some ears, but certainly 
did not affect the drinking... Concerning the fighting qualities 
of the Breton there is no need to consult other records than 
those of this war. The Germans have surnamed the Breton 
regiments the " French Guard. " 

As to the Auvergnat, he has an extraordinary reputation 
for being hard as nails, looking after his pence, and getting on 
anywhere. There is a splendid typical portrait of an Auver- 
gnat in the novel of Balzac called " Le Cousin Pons " ; the 
man's name is Remonencq. He might have been born in Aberdeen. . . 

Nordic. — Tall, blond men, with a long skull, have always 
lived side by side with Celtic populations in what is now Flan- 
ders, Belgium and Holland. Gaul, before and during Roman 
occupation, included all three (see Map, page 84). 

The Barbarians having at last taken Rome in 476, the Germanic 
Visigoths could safely invade S. France from N. Italy, conquer 
Spain, and found an empire that comprised Provence, Languedoc, 
Guyenne, Spain, and had Toulouse for its capital. Meanwhile 
the Germanic Burgundians established at first in Savoy by the 
Roman general Aetius, extended their power N. and E. 

Another tribe, the Franks (probably Germanic), established 
by the Emperor Julian 100 years before, in Belgium, annexed what 
was left of Gaul. 

SAILLENS 209 14 



JkACES AND NATIONALITIES 

All those conquerors however could not alter greatly the charact- 
eristics of the native races. The Visigoths, when they had 
crossed the Danube, did not number more than 80,000 ; the Bur- 
gundian colony was only 20,000. A horde is not a nation. The 
language was not changed ; the invaders soon became Chris- 
tians, etc. The main difference was that Imperial property chang- 
ed hands. 

Nordic also were the Normans. They began their raids in 
France, rowing up our rivers, about 804. Charlemagne was 
still alive, and the old fighter cried as he saw some of them pass 
in the distance. " I weep, " he said, " over the harm that 
these people will inflict on my Kingdom in days to come. " 
He died, and his Kingdom was divided ; the Norman raids 
became more frequent and bold. Paris was looted in 845, again 
in 856, besieged in vain for one year in 885. That last siege, and 
the ravages of the pirates far inland revealed the weakness of the 
declining Carolingians, and brought about the rise of the Cape- 
tians, one of whom, at last, resorted to an old stratagem, and turn- 
ed those anarchists into conservatives by making them landlords.; 
He gave them a portion of Neusiria (Non-East France), which 
thereafter was called " Normandie";th.e arch-pirate Rollo being, 
made Duke of the same (911). 

For a time the new-comers were busy learning French, their 
catechism, and Christian decencies, but as soon as those school- 
days were past, their rovers'blood rose again, and by iioo they 
had invaded N. Spain, established a kingdom in Sicily and S.Italy 
and another in England, and contributed in the taking of Jerusa- 
lem... 

The Nordic type is still in evidence in Normandy. The " Nor- 
mand " has a reputation in France for being extremely fond of 
going to law, and being as shrewd and guarded in his conver- 
sation as if he was a trained lawyer discussing a brief... Was 
that cautious legal mind born from a mutual tendency to 
cheating one's neighbours ? And might the latter be the modern 
attenuation of the piratical instinct ? 

Normandy ranks very high in the history of our literature ; 
Corneille was a Normand, like Flaubert, Maupassant, Mir- 
beau, and several other masters of straightforward manly style. 

Greeks. — In 600 B. C, 40 years before the fall of Babylon, the 
Greeks had settled in Provence, that replica of Greece. There 
they founded Marseilles {Massilia : the House of the Gaulish 
tribe of the Salyes), and planted about their new home the vine 
and the olive-tree. Gaul owed to their sailors and merchants the 
productions of the Mediterranean coast, the alphabet and pro- 
bably the use of coins. Massilia was purely Greek; Homer was 
taught in her schools, Artemis and Pallas were worshipped in 
her temples ; and Greek she remained, a world apart, during 
Roman occupation. Her influence over Gaul, especially before 

— 210 — 



RACES AND NATIONALITIES 

and after Roman times, can hardly be over-estimated. Indeed 
she invited Rome to come and occupy S. Gaul. 

Of Greek origin also are Nice (Niceia : Victory), Antibes (Anti- 
polis : the city opposite Nice), Agde (Agathe TycM : Good For- 
tune), Monaco, Aries, etc. 

The fishwomen of Marseilles and the girls of Aries, have 
been known for their Greek type of beauty until recent times. 

. Romans — They lived in numbers in the Gaulish cities of the 
South, and founded Aix ( Aquae Sextiae), in 122 B. C. Their 
roads, buildings, statues, are found everjrwhere; bull-fights still 
take place in their arenas of Nimes, and their theatres of Aries and 
Orange are still used... But their type was the same as the local 
one, and is not traceable. 

Huns. — When Attila was routed on the Marne in 451, some of 
his men remained in the country. They had entered it 18 years 
before ! — No trace would be left of them by now, if some districts 
of France had not been impossible to live in at the time : those 
were given up to the Huns, either as a free gift, or as " concen- 
tration camps, " and the people who live to-day in the yet marshy 
districts oithe"Bocage Vendeen" still havethe sallow complexion, 
high cheek-bones, and black lank hair of the Asiatic. Some of 
their customs savour more of pagan " joie de vivre " than of 
Christian restraint. Other groups of them seem to have lived in 
Champagne and Burgundy. 

One of our most eminent statesmen is a native of the 
" Bocage " ; his physionomy is plainly Asiatic ; it is at least a 
curious coincidence that he should have written a play, the 
hero of which is a Chinese sage, and that he should be an expert 
collector of Eastern curios. 

Arabs. — The " Saracens ",as they were called, raided France 
soon after their invasion of Spain in 711. The Gascons routed 
them at Toulouse in 721, but nothing daunted they marched up 
the Rhone valley and round the Central Range into the heart of 
France. A Frankish chief then routed them at Poitiers in 732. 

It took some time, however, before the South was rid of them, 
and a good many remained as Christians long after the defeat of 
their nation. Their long occupancy is still evidenced by proper 
names such as : " Jalaguier", •' Jallifier" (Jal: prince), "Castel- 
Sarrazin", " Montagnes des Mores", etc. ; and by the famous 
Tarbes horse, a cross of the Arab and the small Pyrenean breed (a 
fast hardy beast, invaluable to our light cavalry). 

Other Arabs came at other times, along the coast, from Spain, of 
from Africa across the sea. In 799 they had to be driven out or 
Corsica. It is certain that many more entered France at the time 
of the Crusades, as prisoners, servants, or artisans. Arab handi- 
work adorns many buildings in S. France. 

— 211 — 



RACES AND NATIONALITIES 

Jews. — The Jews in France belong to two great families : some 
came at various times from eastern Europe ; others in modern 
times from Spain and Portugal (which they had entered from 
N. Africa). 

The Jews in the Middle Ages, being neither French, nor Christ- 
ian nor European, were held in absolute subjection ; they were 
not allowed to own or to till any land, nor to carry on any industry, 
as they could not belong to any Guild. They had to adopt a 
profession which was forbidden to Christians : money-lending. 
Those various advantages and disadvantages caused many 
Jews to become Christians and some Christians to become Jews. 

The Church did not persecute the Jews, but the people had a 
wild hatred of them, and kings bled them periodically. Philippe- 
Auguste banished them and forfeited their goods in 1180; allowed 
them to return, for a price, in 1 198 ; they were all banished again in 
1306 ; recalled ; banished in 1311 ; recalled ; burnt and massacred 
in 1321 ; expelled again in 1348 ; recalled ; expelled in 1357 ; 
recalled in 1359 ; spoliated and banished in 1394, all bonds signed 
by Christians being cancelled. From that date, our Jews lived 
abroad for a considerable time. As the law of the land became 
less liable to sudden changes, they gradually returned. But they 
were never regarded as proper citizens before the Revolution. 

In almost every provincial town, some narrow squalid street, 
still called " Rue des Juifs" , shows the emplacement of the old 
Ghetto. The suburb of Paris called " Villejuif " was one. 

English. — The English element is naturally not traceable in 
theN., but a number of tall, fair, quiet business men in Bordeaux 
claim descent from the English who held Guyenne until 1453. 

Under Louis XIV, a number of Jacobites served in the French 
army. Some belonged to the portion of the King's Guard called 
the " Gendarmes Anglais ", a company of English, Scottish, and 
Irish officers and men brought to France by George Hamilton, in 
1667, and all of whom were Catholics. Others formed regiments 
of infantry, cavalry and dragoons. 

Scottish. — French history is interwoven with Scottish; simi- 
larities in temperaments, and the fact that for a long time we had 
the same interests, kept us in close touch at many points for long 
periods. 

Charles VII had a company of Scots Guards in 1450. Toward 
1650, most of the men were French, and only one of the two lieu- 
tenants was a Scot. Even he came to be replaced by a French 
officer, who however was still called " le lieutenant ecossais ". 
In 1700, there was not one Highlander left in the Company ; yet, 
every man, on his name being called, would traditionally answer : 
" Hamir ! " (I am here). 

The names of Pierre Lescot (p. 239), Mac-Mahon, Macdonald 
(p. 249), de Lesseps, General Dodds (p. 250), and others, show 
that the Scottish stock has not suffered from transplantation. 

— 212 — 



RACES AND NATIONALITIES 

Irish. — After the dethronement and the flight of James Il.ovei 
25,000 Irish troops followed him to France. They called them- 
selves the " Wild Geese ", and formed the famous Irish Brigade. 
Their numbers gradually diminished, and in 1789, our three 
" Irish Regiments " were mostly composed of Picards, Artesians, 
and Flemings. 

Spaniards. — The Pyrenees have proved an efficient bar 
against the mingling of Spanish and French blood in the South, 
the more so as the only two roads between France and Spain, 
situated at either end of the Pyrenean wall, between rocks and 
sea, are held by two nations which are neither French nor Spanish 
really, and are politically cut in two by the frontier : one is the 
Basque nation, the other the Catalan. 

Some Spaniards, however, did migrate to the South of France at 
various periods, some of them, at Toulouse for instance, making 
fortunes and leaving names still famous after 400 years. 

But Spanish blood is much more in evidence in the North, as the 
Spanish ruled and occupied Flanders for about 200 years, owing to 
the following circumstances : when Charles the Bold of ISurgundy 
died, in 1487, Flanders were part of his possessions ; his daughter 
Mary had married Maximilian the Austrian heir, and Flanders 
went to their son Philip ; as the latter eventually married the 
heiress to the Spanish throne, Austria, Spain, Burgundy, 
Provence, etc. and Flanders had for a long time the same rulers. 
The other French provinces were more speedily regained, but 
Flanders remained Spanish until Louis XIV reconquered them 
in 1668 (see Map on page 87). 

Spanish art has left its mark on many buildings in the North 
(e. g. a church at Fillers, and all those steeples which the peasants 
still call " clochers espagnols "). The strict faith of Flanders pro- 
bably owes a good deal to the Spanish Inquisition. Black hair 
and black eyes, and the sallow Spanish complexion, are common 
in many districts (about Lille for instance). Picardy and Arto s 
generally shared the fates of Flanders to some extent. Corbie 
was Spanish in 1636, Amiens in 1597... 

An even more curious trace of Spain is found in Normandy. 
The department of Calvados owes its name to a portion of the 
coast on which some ships of the Armada were wrecked, one of 
them, the " Salvador ", giving its name to the rocks that broke 
her. 

Spanish artisans, weavers in particular, settled centuries ago on 
the S. coast of Brittany, and on its desolate islands peopled only 
by fishermen. 

Italians. — Italian dialects are still spoken in Corsica and about 
Nice ; the former was annexed in 1768, the latter in i860. Italian 
merchants were invited to France by Charles V (ab. 1370) ; many 
of them settled among us, and gallicised their names : e. g. the 
Calcati, Macci, Guadagnabene, Pigazzi, Peruzzi, became Chay- 

— 313 — 



RAILWAYS 

chat, Maches, Gagnebien, Pigasse, Perruche, etc. Italians are 
numerous in Marseilles. 

Mirabeau, Gambetta, Gallieni, were of Italian descent. 

Bigoudens. — Anice ethnical problem is presented by a group of 
Bretons, the Bigoudens. Their yellowish complexion, high cheek- 
bones, short squat build, black hair, and love of gaudy colour, all 
point to an Asiatic origin. They have no history so far. 

Books recommended.-^ De Boisjolin, Les Peuples de la France (Perrin). — 
A. Longnon, Origines et formation de la nationalite franfaise (Nouvelle Librairie 
Nationale, 2 fr.). 

W. Z. Ripley, Races of Europe (with bibliography, London, 1900). 



RAILWAYS. — French railways were first built by British 
engineers, on British plans (in 1836) : they still run on the left 
track, contrary to our national custom. 

Their total mileage is 40,000 kilometers, and their gross yearly 
takings 2,000 million francs. 

France has six great systems of railways ("reseaux de chemins 
de fer " ) : 

1. Nord. — From Paris to Calais, or Boulogne (and England); 
Paris-Dunkirk ; Paris-Lille (and Belgium) ; Paris-Maubeuge (and 
N. Germany, and Rassia). (Paris-Berlin : 16 hours ; Paris-Petro- 
grad : 46 h.) 

2. Etat. — (State-owned; all the other lines belong to private 
companies). — From Paris to Normandy, N. Brittany, and W. 
coast ; i. e. : Paris-Havre ; Paris-Cherbourg ; Paris-Brest ; Paris- 
Bordeaux ; Nantes-Bordeaux. 

3. Est. ■ — From Paris, to Rheims, Mezieres (and Belgium and 
Luxemburg); to Nancy (and S. Germany and Austria, via Alsace); 
to Belfort (and Switzerland). (Paris-Munich: 14 h. ; Paris-Vienna : 
22 h. ; Paris-Constantinople : 61 h. ; Paris-Basel : 7 h. ; Paris- 
Vienna : 34 h. ; Paris-Milan : 17 h.). 

4. Orleans. — From Paris to Orleans ; then : a) Limoges ( Centre ) , 
and Toulouse ; b) Tours, Poitiers, Bordeaux ; c) Tours, Loire 
valley, and S. Brittany (" b " runs to Madrid, via Bordeaux, in 
26 h. and to Lisbonne in 35 h.). 

5. Midi. — Bordeaux to Bayonne (and W. Spain); Bordeaux to 
Agen, Toulouse, Narbonne, Cette, and Perpignan (and Barcelona). 

6. Lyon (also: P. L. M. : Paris-Lyon-Mediterranee). — From 
Paris, to Dijon (and Switzerland), to Dijon, Macon, and N. Italy 
(Turin 19 h.) ; to Dijon, Macon, Lyon, Tarascon (and Nimes), 
Marseilles, Toulon, Nice (and Genoa) ; from Paris to Nevers, Cler- 
mont-Ferrand (Centre), Nimes, and Cette. 

We trust that the gentle reader, before indulging in the time- 
bonoured jokes about French railways, will be careful not tg 

— - 214 — 



RAILWAYS 

compare our " South Easterns " or " Eries", with his Bordeaux 
expresses ! The express Paris-Bordeaux-Spain travels at the 
average rate of 54 miles an hour. Again, from Paris to Marseilles 
(800 kil. : 500 miles) there is one day-express and one night- 



TOTAL 
U.S.A. 


MILEAGE 

: 242.885 miles 


Russia 


37.500 tniles 


Germany 


35.625 d: 


France 


30.625 d.? 


U. Ki 


23.125 d". 




IVIILEAGE £u AREA 

U. K. 18,8 «\iles to every 100 sq.tn. 


Grertnany 


16.8 „ 


France 


13,6 „ 


U.S.A. 


_» 


Rttssick 


*r / rr rr tf 


MILEAGE &, POPULATION 

U.S.A. 243 miles per lOO.OOO inhabitants 


France 


_7S „ 


Grex*tna.ny 


^'■^ " "■ tf 

so ..' 


U.K. 


Russia 

f 



Comparative railway mileage of certain nations. 
- 215 — 



RAILWAYS 

express daily, doing the journey in 13 hours (over 40 miles au 
hour). 

Our trains seem long to Britishers : — but most trains run 
fairly long distances : the long distances account for the long 
trains ; they carry a maximum number of travellers with a mini- 
mum of labour. 

They seem light to Americans : they seldom derail, however, 
and our trains have not to be, as in America, houses on wheels : 
we cross France in 20 hours. — Most of our people travel very 
short distances, to the nearest market town, etc. ; this important 
point should never be lost sight of. 

French railways. Official figures for 1913. 





Double 
Track 

(miles) 


Single 
Track 

(miles) 


Total 
mileage 


Gross 
earnings 
in 1.000 (loll. 


Gross 
earnings 
in I.000.£ 


Or. earnings 

per mile 

in 1.000 (loll. 


fir. earnings 
per mile 
in 1.000 £ 


Nord.. 


1.400 


1 .000 


2.412 


64.894 


12.978,8 


26,8 


5,36 


Etat.... 


2 . 000 
1.820 


3.545 


5.810 


62.287 


1^.457,4 


10,56 


2,11 


Est 


600 


3.005 


57.984 


11.596,8 


17.2S 


3.45 
2,36 


Orleans. 


1.645 


3 .220 


5 .080 


-60.564 


12.112,8 


11,84 
10,8 


Midi.... 


730 


1.680 


2.800 


29.391 


5.878,2 


2,16 


P. L.M. 


3.010 


3.020 


6 . 200 


117.300 


23.460,0 


18,46 


2.69 


Various. 






15.750 


18.791 


3-758,0 


1,19 


0,23 


Tramways. 






6.000 


7-561 


1.512,0 


1.25 


0,25 


Totals . . 


107605 


13.065 


47.057 




Total ycaiij ( 425 million Iravellers. 
tralfic : ( 165 million Ions. 



The rate, 3rd class, before the war, was 0.05 per kil. (4 /5 ol 
British rate). The ist class rate was double. The rate Paris- 
Marseilles, in ist class, was therefore 80 fr. : 800 x 0,10. The 
tariff has been raised by 25 % since the war. 

The Nord Company, on Sept. 4, 1914, had lost 90% of its line, 
owing to enemy occupation. It now exploits 60 %. The enemy 
captured only 3 % of the engines. By January 1915, 24 % of 
the Nord's personnel were prisoners or missing. 

Book recommended. — Statistique des chemins de ler franfais, issued by thp 
Ministere des Travaux publics (Beranger). 

Collier (R.), French Railways (Smith Elder C, 1911),. 



RECREATIONS 

RECREATIONS. — Speak to an Englishman, or an America.n, 
about his business : his eyes will glisten with pleasure ; ask him 
why So and So is so keen on making money: hewillsay: "It's great 
fun ! " — And now, open with him some discussion about the 
latest match of golf or base-ball, and his voice will become solemn, 
his face will assume a stern expression, as if momentous issues were 
at stake. A Frenchman said, 500 years ago : " The English take 
their pleasure sadly... " No, but they do take it earnestly. 

We do not; our playing is playful ; we give it little thought and 
little time. Does the modern economic system press more heavily 
on our souls and hearts, or even on our bodies, than the " iniquit- 
ies " and " prejudices " of the Dark Ages ? Our peasants used 
to play far more than they do, at a time when they were poorer. 
It is perhaps precisely because they have a better chance in life 
to-day, that they do not waste much time on exertion that does 
not pay... The problem affects a whole nation and period, it is 
therefore many-sided, and admits of several answers.,. 

One point at least should be borne in mind : because none of our 
games is a national institution, it does not follow that we never 
play. We do amuse ourselves in many ways, one of our recreations 
being ari, and most of our games being games of skill or moderate 
calculation, rather than feats of sheer strength, or pure gambling. 

Our game of • • pauine" wa.sto us what foot-ball is to the English ; 
we were so madly fond of it that an Order in Council had to forbid 
it for a time (1400); one of our Kings died, in 1316, from 
a chill caught after a violent game of " paume " ; Henry of Na^^arre 
played "paume "on the top of Montmartre, while besieging Paris. 
Later, the game came to be so scientific that it was played in 
special buildings where people could sit and watch it as they now 
do billiards ; the side-walls only reached half-way up. The " Etats 
Generaux " of 1789 met in one of those halls. The game has 
practically died out to-dav, though it is often played in thCTm- 
/enes" (Paris). The ball' used is about three times as large as 
a foot-ball ; it is sent with the open hand (hence the name 
" palm ") and the rules are nearly those of tenns. It requires 
great skill, vigour, and agility. 

The "mail" is another outdoor game which we have ceased to 
play ; the green alleys along which the bowls were sent rolling to 
a little hoop, went by the same name. 

"Tennis" we play a good deal; we imported it from England, 
where it was imported from France, as is proved by its name, 
which is the old "Tenez" of former French tennis (" Hold! 
Catch ! "), an equivalent of the present " Ready ? ". 

We play croquet but in an informal way; we 'would never think 
of weighing the bowls or measuring the mallets. Of bowls and 
quoits we are very fond; players of this game can be ^ seen 
almost every day (in peace-time) in the " Bois de Boulogne " and 
the " Luxembourg " gardens, as well as in every village. 

— 217 — 



RECREATIONS 

Archery is much practised in the North, the target generally 
being a live pigeon tied at the top of a mast. Here it should be 
mentioned that the North is especially fond of homing-pigeons, 
fighting-cocks, and singing matches between chaffinches that have 
been blinded so as to make better singers of them. The law is 
against cruelty to animals, and forbids cock-fighting and the 
blinding of birds, but these are quietly tolerated in the North, 
just as bull-fights are in the South. A form of bull-baiting 
which is cruel only in some cases, and only to the men who practise 
it, is in great favour in the South ; when the marketing is over, 
the young men place waggons and carriages in a circle, and lead a 
bull into the ring ; the animal has a bunch of flowers fixed between 
its horns, the game consists in plucking those flowers, and brings 
into play much agility. The best players of this game are the 
nimble Iberians who live between the Pyrenees and the Bay of 
Biscay, The meetings are called " courses landaises " (See 
Index : Landes.) 

Parisians are extremely fond of horse-races ,whichwere introduc- 
ed from England, and have remained English in almost every res- 
pect ; most of the jockeys, grooms, and trainers are British. On one 
point only are they strictly French : the books are made by special 
officials, under Government control ; the book-maker is therefore 
the State, whose profit is a heavy tax levied on all bets, for the 
benefit of the official charitable institutions (" Pari mutuel "). 

Boxing we practise a little (Carpentier has shown what we can 
do in that line when we try) ; it is sufficiently known that our 
branch of the art includes the use of the feet. Wrestling is far 
more popular, and most of our men understand it. • 

Fencing and riding a,ve very much practised, owing to our milit- 
ary training. We have rowing and swimming-clnhs in all our 
great cities, and many of our townspeople can skate ; but none of 
those sports is so popular as either shooting, or billiards, our two 
great democratic recreations. 

Chess can boast of several French champions (Philidorwasone); 
Napoleon used to play chess at the "Cafede laRegence " — still a 
chess-cafe to-day — , and was often beaten because he always 
attacked eagerly. He found chess " too frivolous as an occupa- 
tion, and too exacting as a game. " Of course, we play draughts, 
dominoes, dice, and backgammon. 

Cards were introduced into France about 1350. Our upper 
classes borrow their card games from England, while our common 
people have games of their own. We play bridge in the salons, 
and " manille " in the little cafes. 

A revival of outdoor games has been noticeable for the last 
twenty years, and most of our " lycees " now have foot-ball 
clubs ; yet our boys as a rule have not much time for play ; they 
are quite satisfied, or have to be, with brief spells at their marbles 
or spinning tops, or short violent games of leap-frog, saddle-my- 
nag, or prisoner's base. 

— 218 — 



RED-LETTER DAYS 

As to the lassies, besides their dolls and skipping-ropes, they 
have their charming " rondes " : they walk or run in a circle 
holding each other's hands, and singing little songs of a dramatic 
or lyrical character, generally laden with old associations. One 
of them describes the siege of a grim impregnable tower by a 
growing host of gallant knights; another is all about a rose-tree 
and a rose ; another about the merry bridge at Avignon, where 
people " like this ", and " like that ", pass in succession. Those 
roundelays are part of our folk-lore, and have been carefully col- 
lected. 

We have borrowed from English the word "s^o;'i(", and have 
even coined a new adjective out of it : "sportif" ; it is interesting to 
notice that "sport" comes from the Old French "desport", an 
equivalent of diversion, recreation. 

Books recommended.^ I.«s sports modemes illustres (Laioasse 2 fr.) — A series 
of 9 volumes (Larousse, 2 fr. each) including : Boxe anglaise et franfaise, et lutte ; 
L'Escrime ; Jeux et concours de plein air a la campagne. — Also a series of pamphlets 
publ. by Nilsson, 40 centimes each. 

Leatham, Sport in five Continents (Blackwood & Sons, 1912). 



RED-LETTER DAYS. — On New Year's Day {"Jour de I' An"). 
we exchange compliments and presents, call on our employers 
and senior relatives, give " etrennes" to the postman, "concierge " , 
street-sweeper, and many others, and have a good dinner if we can. 
Millions of visiting cards travel all about the country at that time 
of the year ; many of them, with just the name and address, keep 
up year by year a faint but grateful connection between people 
who have no occasion to meet or correspond. 

On the 6th of January, in honour of the Three Wise Kings of 
the East {" Les Rois"), bakers offer to their customers a special 
cake (" galette"), in which a large bean or a diminutive china doll is 
concealed. Several friends are invited to partake of the cake, 
and of a dinner with it, and the one who finds the bean or doll in 
his or her piece of cake is King or Queen for the day ; he or she 
must elect a consort at once ; when either of them lifts his 
glass, every one round the table must pledge them. The King 
must offer the company a similar cake at an early opportunity. — 
Carnival begins on that day. It ends in February, when it is 
fallowed by a fast of forty days : "Car erne " ; all that time we are 
not supposed to eat any meat. So we enjoy life as much as we 
can before launching on that distressing period: on Shrove-Tuesday, 
the last day of Carnival, we always have pancakes ; sometimes 
we put on disguises and masks, throw confetti about, and watch 
the procession of the Fai^ec? Oat ("Boeuf gras"), which was orga- 
nized in mediaeval times by the Butchers' Guild. 

Next morning, on A,sh-Wednesday, a great many people go to 
church, and come out with small patches of ashes on their 
foreheads, in token of penitence. 

— 819 — 



RED-LETTER DAYS 

Mid-Lent (" Mi-Careme"), comes twenty days later, when 
the rejoicings of Shrove-Tuesday are repeated. 

Then comes Palm-Sunday ("le dimanche des Rameaux") ; 
people buy some twigs of box-tree, have them blessed by the 
priest with holy water, and fix them above their mantel-piece 
in place of those of the year before. The churches are full again 
on Good Friday (" Vendredi-Saini" ) , and the fasting is supposed 
to be very strict on that day as well as on " Jeudi- Saint and 
" Samedi-Saint" . At last comes Easter ("Pdques") ; the people 
wear new light dresses and straw-hats, in a blizzard as often as 
not, and offer eggs to one another. 

On the First of April, it is still fairly common to send puzzling 
messages to one's friends, or to offer them fishes of sugar or 
chocolate. 

Children get a fortnight's holiday at Easter, and another day 
off on Whitmonday. Fishing is permitted again about June 15th. 
On July J.^, there is a military review in the morning, all the natio- 
nal and municipal theatres have free performances in the after- 
noon, and in the evening there are fire-works, illuminations, and 
dances on the streets. The children receive their prizes on that 
day. Some time in September, comes the " ouverture de la 
chasse " : the shooting season begins. 

On the First of Novem ber, which is All-Hallows Day ( ' ' Toussaint' ' ) 
the people go to church and pray for their dead. The next day, 
they all bring flowers to the graves of those they loved. This is 
the day of the " Trepasses " , according to the Church (the day of 
the Souls in Purgatory), but we call it simply " le jour des morts ", 
it is to us the most solemn in the whole year. 

In December comes Christmas, of course, (we go to the Mass, 
and call the day "Noel" : the birthday, Natalem), but we do not 
make so much of it as our English neighbours. The children 
expect a present from "le Pere Noel'', when they are not old 
enough to attend the Midnight Mass ; this takes place on 
Christmas Eve, and is followed by a special dinner called 
"reveillon" (awakener). 

Birthdays and Fetes. — If a lady is called Anne, and was born 
on the 1st of May, it is modern and quite proper to send her one's 
good wishes on May i, but equally proper to celebrate the anni- 
versary of her patronymic saint, whose " fete " falls in July. The 
latter is the true Catholic custom, the meaning of which is this : 
Mrs. Anne came into this world on May i , but did not enter Christ- 
ian society, was not born into Christian society before she was 
christened. As she was, or is supposed to have been christened 
on St. Anne's day, it is proper and sufficient that she and her 
friends should celebrate that day exclusively. That is why, on 
most flower-stalls in Paris, a slate displays in chalk the name of the 
Saint for the day. The slate reminds the passer-by that he should 
offer some flowers to any Mrs. or Miss Anne with whom he is suf- 
ficiently intimate. 

— ?ZO — 



I^ELIGION 

The custom implies that French parents have hardly more thari 
300 names to choose from. 

As to our Sunday, it is a day of freedom to such an extent that 
a man is free to work on that day of he hkes. Employers must 
give their employees one day's rest out of seven, but this rest 
may betaken in rotation, so that everyone may have his "repos 
hebdomadaire" and yet the place be continuously open. Such is 
the law ; as a matter of fact, all important businesses are closed 
on Sunday. — The " English week; i. e. one including an extra 
half-holiday, had made its appearance shortly before the war, 
in a few businesses, and in Paris mostly. 



RELIGION. — The vast majority of the French are, nominally 
at least, Roman Catholics. Towns are different, but villages con- 
form to this rule : one village, one church, and only one. 
Every "paroisse" is in charge of a "cure" who may be assisted 
by a "vicaire". The metropolis of Catholic France is Lyons, the 
old capital of Gaul, and the first city in France where Christianity 
was preached. — France has 7 cardinals. As to archbishoprics 
and bishoprics, see : Cathedrals. 

The Protestants are 600,000, Calvinists as a rule. Jean Calvin 
was not a Swiss ; he spent most of his life at Geneva, where he 
founded a theocratic commonwealth ; but he was born in Noyon 
(Picardy). See : Literature, and Oise. 

We have only 70,000 Jews, all town-dwellers, and generally 
holding eminent places in finance, trade, journalism, and the 
professions (See : page 212). 

In IQ05, the State ceased to support any form of worship. 
All Churches and religious brotherhoods were at the same time . 
bidden to regard themselves as " associations ", so far as the State 
was concerned, and comply with the common law regulating asso- 
ciations of all sorts : they must state their objects, rules and bye- 
laws, assets, revenues, membership, etc. The brotherhoods that 
refused to comply were declared illegal, and broken up. As a 
result of those measures, a good many convents were closed ; but 
all churches are open as before, and many brotherhoods and sist- 
erhoods still carry on their usual life. 

At the time of that separation we had 36,169 Roman Catholic 
priests. ■ — • We have now about 25,000 priests in our army, 
300 of whom are chaplains. 340 Protestant ministers ("pas- 
teurs" ) are in the ranks, and 68 are chaplains. 

The salary of a French archbishop before 1905 was £ 600 
($ 3,000) ; that of a bishop was £ 400 ($ 2,000). Village priests 
received about £ 32 ($ 160). 

Much has been said about that severance of our Churches from 
our State, and its consequences, it being often suggested and some- 



Religion 

times believed, that France had become ahti-rehgious, or that the 
measures had been prompted by anti-rehgious feehng. 

It is quite true that we have among us a distinctly " anti-reli- 
gious " party (it being remembered however, that for most French- 
men the word religion is synonymous with the name. of the only 
religion they know or care about : Roman Catholicism). But 
that party is not very large, and could have little influence, if 
the bulk of the nation was not resolutely " anti-clerical " . To us, 
the difference is quite clear in principle, though obscured or ignor- 
ed at times in petty politics, or from sheer necessity. Suffice it 
to say that the Protestant and the Jewish communities accepted 
the measures without a demur ; while many earnest Catholics 
tacitly approve of them, as giving to their clergy a less dependent, 
if less secure, position. 

That separation of Church and State, per se, does not mean 
infidelity, must be very clear to Americans (}eiierson's Religious 
Freedom Act, 1785). As to anti-clericalism, it should not shock 
Britishers, who disestablished the Roman Church at the time 
when they called it " Romish " ; the cry " No Popery ! " was in 
those days a sort of national motto ; it never meant " No Reli- 
gion ! "... France gives more men to foreign missions than any 
other country. 

Our religious psychology is complex, because our religious hist- 
ory is inextricably involved with our political history, and results 
from a conflict of tendencies : we have had to be Catholics, but 
always refused to be priest-ridden. 

A French Canadian statesman, on being asked what was the 
attitude of his countrymen toward the Roman Church, replied : 
" We do not even discuss her : she made us. When the French 
noblemen and officials all left Canada, nobody stayed behind with 
the poor peasants but the priest. He spoke French to them in 
church and school, guided them in daily life ; but for the Church, 
we should have lost our language, our mode of living, our racial 
unity and characteristics. " Of one of the villages between 
Albert and Bapaume, absolutely nothing remains to-day but one 
pillar of the church... In the same way, when Rome had disap- 
peared, the Church maintained in France that tradition of unity 
through centralization and absolute power, which to us meant 
national preservation. As soon as the Barbarians had spent 
themselves, she chose, guided, and seconded our first Kings." 
France was put into shape by absolute Kings, receiving their 
authority from God through the Church, and by a Church that 
could rely on the Kings' power in the enforcing of her moral and 
social discipline. The Kings burnt Jews and heretics for the reason; 
which made them hang their nobles ; later, they worried or banished 
the Protestants just as they fought the various " Leagues " of the 
aristocracy. Religion had little to do with it : their aim was 
to make France one, soul and body. Henri II, who started the- 



ftELlGiON 

persecutions against Protestants in France, supported with all 
his power the German Lutherans leagued against their Emperor. 
Richelieu was a Cardinal, ruthless in fighting the Huguenots so far 
as they were a State within the State ; yet he allied with Gustavus 
Adolphus, the champion of Protestant Europe, against the Catho- 
lic powers hostile to France. 

It was not a question of principle, as to what should or might 
have been, but a question of facts, the urgent necessities of our 
actual history and situation. Our country might have evolved 
toward a federative organization (Protestantism is federative), but 
it had not ; when Calvin appeared, what unity we had achieved 
depended on absolute central government, a political system 
naturally allied with Roman faith. Therefore our Kings, and 
most of their subjects, even when tolerant or indifferent at heart, 
could but discountenance any forms of worship involving a critical 
first stage of dissociation. Louis XIV was unnecessarily harsh, 
to the point of being cruel ; at the same time, when it is remem- 
bered that 30 years after obtaining a charter, the Huguenots still 
assisted the King's enemies, Louis' bitterness and distrust can be 
partly understood. Religious unity and absolute monarchy did 
lend each other mutual support, and did make France one solid 
mass. The Revolution of 1789 logically rejected both ; all Europe 
in arms was at our gates at once. Napoleon saved the situation by 
military genius first, but still more by coming back to absolute 
central government, and very soon had to appeal to the most 
powerful centralizing force in the world, by his " Concordat " 
with the Pope. 

Yet, in that very Concordat, the second tendency of our polit- 
ical tradition came into play. Neither Napoleon, nor any of his 
predecessors, could afford to do without the assistance of the 
Church ; but none of them either could afford to give her unlimited 
freedom. All our great rulers, in spite of their being "Most Christ- 
ian Majesties, " were " anticlericals " as well. Precisely because 
their great power made the Church so strong, they had to check her 
political influence. They were willing to maintain and use her 
organization, unwilling to tolerate her ambitions. 

In 1301, Pope Boniface issued a Bull to the effect that the autho- 
rity of Popes, coming from God, must be higher than that of kings. 
The French King, grandson of Saint Louis though he was, answered 
this by confiscating the property of the French bishops, sending 
an expedition against the Pope, having a French archbishop elect- 
ed Pope, and making Avignon the capital of Christendom, which 
it remained until 1378. This interesting attempt at founding a 
national Cathohcism did not succeed. One cannot destroy unity 
and have it. But it shows how a Most Christian monarch must 
and could teach the Church her lesson. 

In 1 51 6 Francis I obtained from the Pope, by a Concordat, the 
right for French Kings to have a voice in the nomination and 
administration of the French clergy. 

— 223 — 



RELIGION 

Louis XIV himself, and his great bishop Bossuet, both of them 
stern defenders of the Faith against all heretics, defended at the 
same time the privileges of the Church in Gaul from the encroach- 
ments of the Holy See. 

Perhaps we ought to have done like our British friends, who 
(after a good deal of persecution and bloodshed) managed to get 
rid of the interference of a foreign clergy in their national policies 
by instituting, or reviving, a national, non-Roman, Catholic 
Church. But Italian Queens and Ministers, English fleets, Aus- 
trian armies, always played too powerful a part in the discussion 
of our religious affairs. Always at war with one half of Europe, 
we never could indulge in serious religious reconstruction. Had 
we been left a little more to ourselves, there is no doubt that we 
should have evolved early some form of worship intermediate 
between our present Roman faith and Calvinism. The latter 
indeed would not have been called for. That our real latent 
national creed is not Roman, and was silenced by external in- 
fluences, could easily be proved. The heresies of the Albigenses 
and Valdenses had long preceded Calvinism ; they were born in 
France. Joan of Arc was a French Christian, who went by her 
Gospel ; she was condemned by laws importedfrom Rome. Gothic 
art was never appreciated beyond the Alps ; it savours too 
much of Gallicanism. Jansenism prospered on our soil ; it 
was stamped out by the disciples of the Spaniard Loyola, and 
by Rome 

Indeed, though the absolute dogmas of the Church had to be 
accepted as being part of a system indispensable to our political 
unity, their absoluteness never appealed to the national tempera- 
ment. A cautious common-sense, a vein of irony and healthy 
scepticism, have always mitigated our most " logical " systems, 
and our wildest enthusiasms, religious or otherwise. From the 
men who placed humorous or indecent statues in our cathedrals, 
to Rabelais, Montaigne, La Fontaine, Voltaire, Renan, a tradition 
of honest doubt has always taught us moderation. — Priest-rule is 
possible only when Nature and Reason (two Goddesses of ours), 
abdicate. Both always had their secret shrines in our nation. 
All extremes, in France, are of short duration, or on the surface. 
Very few Frenchmen really believe in eternal punishment (God, 
they say, cannot be so cruel as all that ; even if I were a criminal, 
which I am not...) ; and they listen to the priest (religion has never 
hurt any one...), but do not take him quite seriously (he is but a 
man after all...). 

To sum up : 

I. France is deeply religious in the general sense of the term ; 
her religion being a semi-conscious agnosticism, a tacit acknow- 
ledgment (and daily observance in more ways than one would 
think), of the great Gospel truths ; and a general earnest respect 
for " ideals " as opposed to " interests. " 

— 224 — 



" REVANCHE ^' 

2. When those behefs take shape in confessional ceremonies or 
phrases, she is Catholic perforce, Roman Catholicism being the 
only form of worship associated with her life. 

3. But she is neither Roman at heart, nor willing to be priest- 
ridden ; and while respecting the man who prays, cannot bear that 
religion should be used to temporal ends. 

Napoleon on his religious policy. — ■ In positive religions, I trace 
the workings of man at every step... yet... our religion is part 
of our fate. — When, at the time of the Concordat, some old re- 
volutionaries came and asked me to make France Protestant, I 
was shocked, as though they had suggested that I should cease 
to be a Frenchman, to become EngUsh or German. — In a 
well-governed country, there must be a dominant religion, and 
submissive priests.— The Church must be within the State, and not 
the State within the Church. — Perhaps I should have imitated 
Henry VIII, by making myself sole pontiff and head of the reli- 
gions of my Empire ; sooner or later, all monarchs will come to 
this. — Princes who have confessors are in contradiction 
with kiijgship. 

Books recommended.— habeTthonniere, !e CathoHcisme ef la SociStS (Collection 
Doctrines politiques, with bibliogr.) (Giard et Briere, 3 fr. 50). — Henri Bremont, 
Histoire du sentiment religieux en France (en cours de publication, Bloud). — Leca- 
nuet, on Montalembert (Poussielgue), and the Church in France under the 3rd 
Republic. — Piolet, Missions catholiques franQaises (Colin, 5 vol.). ^ A. Leroy- 
Beaulieu, les Catholiques liberaux (Paris, 1885). — See Blond's catalogue. Also 
Revue des Jeunes. — On Protestantism : Works of Bonet-Maury, Pasteur Wagner 
Raoul AUier (Fischbacher's catalogue). ' 

Duke (J. -A.), The Religions of our Allies. — Loisy, The War and Religion 
(Blackwell, 1915). — Sabatier (P.), France to-day. Us religious orientation (J.-M , 
Dent & Sons, 1913). — R. Saillens, The Soul of France (Morgan and .Scott). 

"REVANCHE." — This now famous word does mo^ mean 
" revenge " ("vengeance"), and implies no idea of hatred, cruelty, 
or even punishment. It is used every day by any man who has 
lost a game at cards or biUiards, and v/ishes to try his luck, or his 
skill, once more. "Jedemande ma revanche!" means no more than : 
"I'll play you another ! " If the loser of the first game wins the 
second one, his opponent will say : " Let's play la belle, " the third 
game that must decide. 

"La revanche" is a sportsman's expression ; we always believed 
that the Germans won too easily in 1870. Our unfortunate polit- 
ical situation told too heavily against us. 

Books recommended.— The works of Deroulede, especially his Chants dusoldat. 



— 225 



ROADS 



ROADS. — Our masters in road-making were probably the 
Romans, whose routes we still follow in many cases. Our first 
Roman roads were built by Agrippa, under Augustus ; they 
radiated from Lyons, the capital, founded by Augustus, 
to Marseilles, the Rhine, Boulogne, Brest, and Bordeaux. A 
sixth road linked Marseilles with Bordeaux, via Narbonne and 
Toulouse. As a rule the traveller can assume that any perfectly 
straight road is of Roman origin. Roads of local gradual deve- 
lopment try to avoid hills ; but the Roman roads were essentially 
military. They were not intended primarily for the heavy cha- 
riots of the merchants ; their directness made them cheap to build, 
safe and short for men on the march, and their variations in level 
could only afford relief to the troops. (See Map, page 84.) 

After a period of barbary, an intelligent Prankish Queen of 
Visigoth birth, Brunehaut (Brunnhild), repaired a number of 
Roman roads and nionuments ; those are called to this day 
" Chaussees " (causeways), "Routes" , " Towrs "(towers), de "Bru- 
nehaut" (She died in 613.) There is a " Chaussee de Bnmehaut " 
near Souchez. 

Most of the main roads, like the railways, run from Paris to the 
frontiers. The " Avenue d'ltalie ", in Paris, is the beginning of 
the "Route N° 5", to Italy via Lyons. The former " rue d'Alle- 
magne ", now " Avenue Jean-Jaures ", from the point where it 
leaves Paris, becomes the " Route d'Allemagne. " All those 
roads from Paris are measured from Notre-Dame, distances 
between villages or towns being measured from church to church. 

Our absolute monarchy required, and permitted of, the creation 
and use of direct State-roads, in the Roman style. The " pave du 
Roy " (roads paved with cubes of granite or sandstone), was the 
King's property, used by his troops and his mails. His power 
allowed him to open roads across the land of any of his subjects. 
The winding roads of England reveal a totally different political 
life. 

French roads are of 5 sorts : 

1. "Routes Nationales " (24,000 miles), link up Paris with the 
great centres, or the latter to each other. Kept in repairs by 
State-servants, at the expense of the nation. 

2. "Routes Departementales" {18,275 miles), link "chefs-lieux"' 
Funds and staffs are provided by the Departments. 

3. "Ckemins Vicinaux de Grande Communication" are fairly im- 
portant roads within the limits of Departments. Supported 
by the respective Departments. 

4. "Chemins Vicinaux Ordinaires." Less important as a rule 
Depend on the communes. 

5. "Chemins Ruraux." Country roads, opened and maintained 
by villages. 

— 226 -^ 



" SABOTS " 

Total length of road system : 

Routes nationales (macadam). 36.400 kilom. 
Routes nationales (paved) . . 2.000 — 
Routes departementales. . . . 30.000 — 
Chemins vicinaux of both cate- 
gories 600.000 — 



(Germany : 425.000 kilom.) 



668.400 kilom. (417,750 miles) 



All roads and bridges are free of toll. 

State-roads are maintained by the " Service des Fonts et Chans- 
sees " , on the staff of which are special engineers trained in a 
special school (" Ecole des Pants et 
Chaussees "). For purposes of super 
vision and repairs the roads are 
divided into "cantons" , maintained 
by " cantonniers ". 

The "routes nationales" vary in 
width from 21 to 30 feet, not includ- 
ing ditches ; as a rule their width 
is 8 metres for the causeway, and 
1.50 m. for each of the ditches, a 
total of 12 yards. A large sign of 
stone or cast-iron every kilom. shows, 
on the side facing the road, the num- 
ber of that road, and the number 
of kil. from its starting point ; on 
the sides, the names of, and distances 

to, the nearest localities. Small stones numbered i to 4, and 6 to 
9, and one medium-sized stone giving "kil. 5", mark the deci- 
mal divisions of every kilometre. 



BRIVES 
BOS'? 



7l 



8 



Kilometre and 100 metre 

POSTS. 



Books recommended. — Demoiins, 
Durand-Claye, Cours de routes (Beranger). 



Route crcatrice dn type social. — 



" SABOTS. " — Wooden-shoes, if unsuitable for walking long 
distances, are dry, warm, and cheap. They are much worn all 
over France, especially in Brittany and Auvergne. They are the 
normal foot-gear in all districts where mud and wood are equally 
plentiful. The Gauls used to wear them before they foolishly 
adopted the Roman sandals, unsuited to their climate. They are 
still regarded as indispensable in many trades, and French soldiers, 
especially cavalry-men in winter-time, greatly appreciate the 
" sabots " issued to them. It is not unusual for young boys of 
the best families, even in Paris, to go to school in" sabots" , and 
list-shoes. 



— 227 



Science and invention 

" Sabots " vary with the seasons and the provinces, with classes 
and tastes, sex and age. Some are rough-hewn blocks of beech 
wood, coarsely hollowed out ; the cowherd who slips his bare feet 
into them lines them with straw or hay. Others are true works 
of art, combining thin soles and high heels with embroidered 
leather uppers, gay colours, and tiny brass-nails. 

The soldiers of the Revolution, the boys ofValmy, had to march 
away before they could be equipped, were mostly peasants, and 
wore " sabots ". They surely walked barefooted, on the good 
clean roads, as peasants always did at the time, keeping their 
clogs for the hard stones of the towns, or the dirty farm-yards 
of their billets. 

A French child does not put his stocking in the chimney, 
but his boot or his " sabot ". " Saint Nicolas " need not be so 
prodigal as Father Christmas. 

Intermediate between " sabots " and boots are the " galoches " 
i. e. leather boots with wooden soles. " Galoches" and " sabots " 
are generally hob-nailed ; as wood loses its grip on the nails in 
hot weather, the latter slip out, with disastrous consequences to 
passing cyclists, who would never expect nails to " litter " the 
ground, miles away from any town, forge, or factory. 

Wooden-shoes are representative of poverty and democracy ; 
hence the peculiar flavour of two folk-songs in which " sabots 
and royalty are associated ; the one about " Good Queen Anne " of 
Brittany, " la Reine en sabots " ; the other of a shepherd-girl who 
hopes to marry a Prince and become a Queen : " Avec mes sabots, 
dondaine, avec mes sabots. 

The Englishman says : " I came to London with a shilling in 
my pocket. " We say : " I came to Paris in my clogs. " 

" Sabots " being always somewhat clumsy, " sabote " has 
always been said of any " slip-shod "work. " Ce n'est pas fait, c'est 
sabote" = " This is not done, this is hacked through." Hence the 
well-known term of "sabotage" given to that form of strike in 
which workmen purposely turn out bad slow work, spoil their 
tools, etc. 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION.— It is quite true that we have not 
" sought out as many inventions " as our British or American 
friends. The reason for it is not far to seek : we have less need of 
inventions than America, with her shortage of labour, or England 
who turned from agriculture to industry as early as the xviiith 
century. Our people still manage to do much of their work, 
which is mainly agricultural, in the wrong old way. 

Nevertheless, we have had a host of inventors, and scientists 
of the first order. But it has often happened that our scientists 
or inventors knew or divined too much for the France of their 
life -time. Their ideas or engines were ignored by a non-industrial 
nation, just as the splendid work of our colonial pioneers remained 

— 228 — 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

unknown to the masses. In many cases, French inventions 
were only able to develop in the more favourable surroundings 
of England or America. 

Again, a distinction should be made between science and 
invention. Inventions are essentially of a practical nature, 
and must pay ; they are found by men with a practical turn of 
mind, and for the use of everybody. Scientific research is of the 
abstract order, is unproductive by itself, and appeals, or is possible, 
only to a chosen few. The life of our masses was unfavourable 
to inventors, whilst our mental training always gave us eminent 
rank in scientific research. 

Here follow two lists : the one, of French pioneers of science ; 
the other, of French inventors. Neither claims to be complete; 
the latter has been prepared with some difficulty, as no similar 
list seems to be extant or available : a fact that betokens all too 
clearly our indifference, as a nation, to our own inventors. 

Pioneers of Science. — Archaeology. — Assyria : Botta 
(1843). Cuneiform characters first deciphered : Oppert (1859) ; 
Chaldea : de Sarzec (1877) ; Persia : Dieulafoy (1882) ; Pheni- 
cia : Renan (i860) ; Greece : under Louis XIV ; Egypt : Cham- 
POLLION, De Rouge, Mariette ; Egyptian hieroglyphs deciphered 
by Champollion ; Roman Africa : since 1840. 

Biology. — The word was first used by Lamarck, in 1801 ; the 
same first clearly saw, and formulated evolution : « Nature, 
as she successively brought forth the various species of animals, 
gradually complicated their organization ; further, every species 
has received from the influences of its circumstances the parti- 
cular habits which it now follows, and the modifications of its 
parts whichit displays to our observation. » (1809). — A. Serres 
(1839) showed that the embryo repeats the evolution of the spe- 
cies. F. DujARDiN (1801-1862) first stated that animals and 
plants are all made of one substance, which he called sarcode (we 
now say protoplasm). Milne-Edwards (1858) first showed that 
all life tends to variation, variation answering to division of labour. 
American science (Cope, Packard) has revived of late the " design- 
theory " of Lamarck, in opposition to the "luck-theory" of 
Darwin (see also in England S. Butler) ; Le Dantec is thepresent 
leader of neo-Lamarckism in France ; he claims that higher forms 
of conscience are composite, every atom being conscious. Jordan 
(born 1834), had observed that variation could be sudden, a fact 
denied by Darwin, but lately established by De Vries. Naudin 
(1817-1899) was the original discoverer of the laws of heredity 
known as Mendelism. 

Botany. — Tournefort (i 656-1 708) proposed a practical clas- 
sification of plants, which was perfected by Linnaeus. B. de 
Jussieu and his nephew gave the first natural classification. 
A better one still has been given by Van Tieghem (1839-1914), 

— 229 — 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

who made important discoveries in palseobotany and plant-physio- 
logy. Paleeobotany was founded by Ad. Brongniart, in 1822. 

Celtic studies. — Began in Brittany, in 1499 : Breton-French- 
Latin Dictionary published at Treguier. D'Arbois de Jubain- 
viLLE (1827-1910). 

Chemistry. — Modern {i. e. quantitative) chemistry was found- 
ed by Lavoisier (xviiith century). The vocabulary of the new 
science, now universally adopted, was created by Guyton de 
Morveau, Fourcroy, and Berthollet. Chemical functions, 
and substitution, were discoveries of Dumas. Stereochemistry 
was founded by Le Bel. Synthesis in organic chemistry made 
immense progress owing to the genius of Berthelot. To 
Sabatier (Nobel Prize) is due hydrogenation by catalysis. 
Sainte- Claire Deville investigated dissociation. Osmond 
created metallography, etc. Some of the practical discoveries of 
our chemists are given further on, under New bodies and pro- 
cesses. 

Chinese studies. — Began in 1728, with the grammar of 
Father Premare ; other French Jesuits, Du Halde, Gaubil, 
Amiot, De Mailla (1735-1783), made Chinese civilization and 
history known in Europe ; A. Remusat and S. Julien led sino- 
logy from 1822 to 1870. 

Economics. — The words " Economie Politique " first appeared 
as the title of a book written by a French Huguenot in 1615. The 
science was founded by the French physiocrates of the xviiith cen- 
tury. The " Tableau Economique " of the physiocrat. Dr. Ques- 
NAY, came out in 1758 ; the work of Turcot, Formation and dis- 
tribution of wealth, is of 1766. (The famous work of Adam 
Smith appeared in 1776). The first complete Treaty of Economics 
was that of J.-B. Say, 1803. 

Education. — Its principles, as a science, were laid down by 
Rabelais and Montaigne. 

Entomology. — Insects have never been more closely or intel- 
ligently observed, nor more delightfully described, than by 
H. Fabre (1823-1915) called by Darwin "the matchless observer. " 
He did not believe in evolution. 

Geography and Travels. — No more complete and accurate 
description of the globe has been given than the works of 
E. Reclus, A¥ho published The Earth in 1865, the nineteen vol- 
umes of his New Universal Geography from 1875, and his Man 
and Earth in 1905. 

Travels. — - It is impossible to give here a full list of our 
travellers. Americans have heard of the explorer of Louisiana, 
Cavelier de La Salle. One of his companions, the Frenchman 
Hennequin, was the first white man who saw Niagara Falls. 
Bernier (i625-«[688) travelled 10 years in Egypt and 12 in 
India. Bougainville preceded Cook in several places. Levail- 

- 230 ^ 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

LANT explored (1753-1824) portions of S. Africa where even the 
Boers bad never travelled, etc., etc. Confining ourselves to recent 
times, the following travels may be mentioned : 

Everybody has heard of Stanley's expeditions, because he was a 
iournalist, and the whole Anglo-Saxon family was interested in his 
quest of the incomparable Livingstone. But several Frenchmen 
have crossed Africa from end to end, with far inferior resources; 
e. g. Capitaine TRiviER,in 356 days, on foot, ending i Dec. 1889 ; 
BouRG DE BozAS (1901-1902), with a detailed exploration of 
Ethiopia ;Versepuy and De Romans (1895-1896) ; F. Foa(i894- 
1897) ; Foureau (i88/!-i896 and 1898-1900) : nine expeditions 
through Africa, atotal'of 13,000 miles, including 5,600 miles of 
new ground; De Rohan-Chabot (1913). etc.; to those travels 
should be added numerous military expeditions. 

Asia we have explored in all directions: Cotteau crossed from 
Russia to Japan in 1881 ; J . Martin visited Siberia, Tibet, etc., 
three times (i 849-1 892); G. Bonvalot and Prince Henry of 
Orleans travelled from Russia to Tongking (i 889-1 890) ; 
Marcel Monnier studied Indo-China and Japan, and crossed 
from Peking to Bassorah (1895-1898), etc. Gervais-Cour- 
tellemont entered Mecca as a pilgrim in 1894. Ch. Huber 
was murdered near Mecca in 1884, after exploring Arabia for 
6 years. Dutreuil de Rhins and Grenard (1891-1894), 
travelled 8,700 kilom. in High Asia (4,000 kilom. of new 
territory), Dutreuil being murdered in Tibet. Corea was first 
crossed by Varat in 1888-1889. 

South America was patiently explored by Crevaux (1877- 
1887), Thouar (1883-1887) and Coudreau (1881-1899). 

The Duke of Orleans (1905) and Dr. Charcot (1902, 1903- 
1905,1908-1911) reconnoitred several thousand miles of Arctic 
coasts. 

Geology. — ^Bernard Palissy, in 1580, maintained that most 
rocks had been formed under water, and that the shells found in 
them must have lived where we find them, in salt or fresh water. 
Descartes, in 1644, stated that what we know of the earth is but 
the crust of incandescent minerals. Buffon (1749) first showed 
that the temperature rose continuously down the pits of mines, 
and in 1778, divided the history of the globe into 7 periods, extend- 
ing over 75,000 years, thus boldly rejecting the theories of sudden 
or rapid creation prevailing until then. Guettard , Bron- 
gniart, Lamarck, and others (1746 to 1823), contributed much 
to the rise of this science, which, however, became mainly English, 
on account of the development of mining in England.. A 
new classification, now generally adopted, has been proposed by 
A. DE Lapparent (1839-1898). L. DE Launay, a master of 
metallogeny, has formulated the law of the atomic distribution 
of the elements of the earth's crust. Stanislas Meunier has 
studied the geology of the solar system. 

— 231 — 



SCIENCE AND. INVENTION 

Indian studies. — Anquetil-Duperron, at 20 years of age, wen-t 
to India in 1754 as a volunteer in the service of tlie " Compagnie 
des Indes " , witli a view to reading the Vedas and the books of 
Zoroaster ; he returned to France 50 years later, with a perfect 
translation in Latin of a Persian version of the Sanskrit books. 
Meanwhile, Ch6zy had mastered Sanskrit in France. The 
contribution of Chezy's successor, E. Burnouf, to Indian 
scholarship, has not been surpassed. 

Mathematics. — Fermat (1601-1665) went further in the study 
of arithmetic than any man after him. Galois (1811-1838) reno- 
vated algebra. Lagrange discovered the calculation of varia- 
tions; Descartes founded analytical geometry; Pascal renovated 
the theory of conic sections ; Monge invented descriptive geo- 
metry ; nomography was invented by Lalande, cinematics by 
Ampere, molecular mechanics by Navier, etc., etc. The im- 
portance of Henri Poincar^'s work in several branches of 
mathematics has given him a world-wide reputation. 

Within the last 40 years, the progress of M. in France has been 
most extensive and varied, owing to the work of Chasles, Ber- 
TRAND, Hermite, Jordan, Darboux, Laguerre, Tannery, 
Halphen, Picard, Appell, Painleve, Borel, etc., whose names 
are well-known to specialists, but seldom reach the general pu- 
blic, owing to the high order of their investigations. 

Medicine and Surgery. — Opotherapy was invented by Brown- 
S6quard (1856); electrotherapy by d'Arsonval (born 1851) ; 
serotherapy originated with Raynaud, and was fully elucidated 
by Ch. Richet and H^ricourt in 1888. The serum against 
diptheria was found by Roux ; one against typhoid by Chante- 
MESSE in 1888 ; another by Vincent in 1914 ; one against the 
plague by Yersin in 1894. The cycle of malarial diseases was dis- 
covered by Laveran in 1895. Iodine was invented by Courtois 
in 1811, chloroform, b}^ Soubeiran in 1831. Pelletier and 
Caventou first prepared quinine in 1820. Laennec invented 
medical auscultation in 1822. Flourens discovered the 
anaesthetic property of chloroform in 1844 (See also : Pasieur). 

Neurology owes as much to Charcot (1825-1893) as physio- 
logy to Claude Bernard. 

Sero-diagnosis, discovered by Widal (born 1862). Asepsy 
recommended rather than antisepsy, by Terrillon (1892). 

Surgery. — Owns such names as P. Reclus (local anaes- 
thesia); Doyen (surgical instruments); Ollier (bone tissues); 
Labbe (ablation of the stomach) ;' Pinard ( gynaekology) ; 
Terrillon (liver operations) ; etc. 

Meteorology (Dynamics of) : first studied by Teisserenc de 
Bort (1855-1913). 

Mineralogy. — Originated from crystallography, which was 
preated by Abbe R.-J. Hauy, in 1783. The constancy of angles in 

— 23:? -^ 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

crystals had been studied by Rout de Lisle in 1771. As to 
petrography, it owes practically everything to A. FouQu6 and 
Ch. Michel-L^vy ('• Miner alogie Micrographique " , 1879), who 
showed that even primitive rocks are crystalline. 

Oceanography. — Founded by Audouin and H. Milne- 
Edwards (1826). 

Palaeontology. — Existence of fossils first maintained by 
Bernard Palissy (1580) simultaneously with Leonardo da 
Vinci. Twenty vears before William Smith, Giraud-Soulavie, in 
his " Histoire naturelle de la France meridionale ' ' , showed that 
fossils are distributed not according to geographical areas, but 
according to geological strata. The exceptional genius of Cuvier 
for comparative anatomy, allowed him to re-constitute from fossil 
bones 168 species of fossil mammals (1796-18 12) ; his work was 
carried on by Lamarck, and Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire. Another 
school of investigators, instead of re-constituting the fossils, 
simply endeavoured to date them. It was reserved for A. Gaudry 
to associate the discoveries of both schools in his " Enchainements 
du Monde animal " (1878), which stated the laws of palaeobiology, 
a science first named by D'ARCHiAcin 1862. A modern classifi- 
cation of fossils was given by A. Brongniart (1876). 

Physics. — Hydrostatics were formulated by Pascal ; electro- 
statics and magnetism by Coulomb ; the motive power of heat 
was discovered by Carnot {1824) ; chromatic and rotary polari- 
zation, by Arago. Fresnel proved that light, contrary to New- 
ton's theory of emission, is due to vibration. Stirn measured 
the transformation of heat into work. Berthelot discov- 
ered synthesis in organic chemistry, and attempted to create che- 
mical mechanics. A. Cornu accurately measured the speed of 
light. Becquerel II investigated phosphorescence and fluores- 
cence. Becquerel III studied radiating bodies. Lippmann has 
discovered electro-capillarity. Perrin has measured mole- 
cules. Etc... 

Physiology. — Owes an incalculable debt to Claude Bernard 
(1813-1877) of whom Pasteur said : " I try to find his weak point, 
but I cannot. " His experiments on animals gave him the clue to 
capital problems; he had been preceded by Bichat (1771-1802), 
and Magendie (1783-1855). He has been followed by Paul 
Bert, Dastre, Ch. Richet, etc. Richet has discovered ana- 
phylaxy (1902), i. e. the growing indifference of the organism to 
serums. A. Carrel is famous in America for his success in the 
preservation, culture, and transplantation of living tissues ; he 
was born at Lyons in 1873. 

"Prehistoire", a branch of anthropology, originated in France, 
from the discoveries of Boucher de Perthes (1850) in the 
Somme valley ; its principles and methods were formulated by 
Lartet, De Mortillet, Commont, and Abbe de Breuil, 

— 333 — 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

Anthropological research in Spain originated with De Car 
TAILHAC (1886). 

Sociology. — Saint-Simon first stated that human societies 
are determinate phenomena like all natural organisms or families, 
and coined the phrase " social physiology. " The word " socio- 
logie " is due to Auguste Comte, who went so far beyond Saint- 
Simon as to regard all mankind as one phenomenon. His plan and 
aim were perhaps too ambitious ; his principles were applied by 
H. Spencer, in England, and Durckheim in France. 

Etc. — 

Inventors. — Motive power and Locomotion. — Salomon de 
Caus (161 5) used steam-power in a hydraulic machine. Riche- 
lieu shut him up in the lunatic asylum of Bicetre, where he died. 
— Denis Papin (b. 1647) invented the piston in 1688; built an 
exhaust -pump, a steam-chariot, a "digester" (i. e. a boiler in 
which temperature varied with the pressure applied on the safety- 
valve, another invention of Papin), etc. Being a Huguenot, he 
fled to Germany, and there navigated a steam-boat on the Fulda ; 
the German boatmen destroyed it (1707). He died in want and 
in exile in 1714. — Cugnot, in 1769, built a s^eaw-ca/ which soon 
came to wreck on the cobbles of Paris, and can now be seen at 
our " Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers. " — S:feGUiN, in 1828, 
invented the tubular boiler, an indispensable component of the 
locomotive. — Monorail : Lartigue, 1864. 

First hydraulic turbine, imagined and built by Fourneyron, 
1827. — First factory using water-power : A. Berg£;s, 1869. 

First transmission of electric power (Vienna Exhib.) Fontaine, 
1873 (to a distance of two kilom.). — Problem of transmission on a 
practical scale, solved by Desprez (i 882-1 886) : 52 HP over a 
distance of 56 kilom. — Electric locomotive : Desprez, 1882. 

Cycles: first pedal-propelled bicycle built by Mich aux, 1842; 
first hollow rim and rubber tube : Truffault, 1875. 

Motor-cars : steam-cars of Lenoir (1864). Bollee (1867) ran 
28 kil. an hour. Serpollet (1868) used superheated steam. 
Electric tricycle run by Trouv6 in Paris, in 1881. In 1889, 
the petrol-motor was invented by Forest, and by Belmont, both 
French, independently of each other. 

Light, photography, etc. — Lebon, in 1786, first discovered and 
recommended the possibilities of coal-gas as an illuminant. He 
was murdered in 1804 ; no notice was taken of his idea ; and gas- 
light returned to us from England in 1817. • — Carcel, in 1800, 
invented the famous " astral " or " carcel " lamp. — Che- 
VREUL (1811) invented the stearine or " composite " candle. ■ — - 
Fresnel, in 1829, invented the parabolic reflectors, used in light- 
houses. — In 1844, Foucault rendered practicable the use of elec- 
tricity as an illuminant, which Humphry Davy had recommended 
in 1804. — Acetylene : industrial production of carbide found by 
Bullier (1893) ; he was a disciple of Moissan, and used the elec- 

- 234 - 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

trie furnace invented by the latter. — Mercury, and neon lamps '. 
G. Claude, 1900. — Cold light : Dussaud (1910). 

In 1829, Daguerre, Chevalier and Niepce, invented helio- 
grapky (the first portraits were called daguerreotypes). — Photo- 
graphic revolver, inv. by Janssen, in 1874. — Photographic 
rifle and Chronophotogrdph, inv. by Marey in 1880. — Phonoscope, 
inv. by Dumeny in 1885. — (Photographs taken by Tissandier 
in a balloon at elevations of from 2,000 to 3,575 ft., in 1885.) — 
Cinematograph, by Dumeny and Lumiere Bros. 1895. — (The 
principle of the cinema had been applied to optic toys by 
Abbe NoLLET : 1765.) — Phonocinemato graph, invented by 
Capt. Couade, built by Path^;, in 1905. — Telephotography : 
invented byBELiN, in 1912. 

Colour 'photography : Lippman invented the first process, in 
1 891 ; other processes were found by Ch. GROsandL. Ducros, 
R. DE Bercegal, and Lumiere Bros. 1904. 

Electricity, telephony, etc. — Ampere (1820) imagined the elec- 
tro-magnet. — Lesage (1874) put up an electric telephone at 
Geneva. He was a Frenchman. The principle of the electric 
telephone had been stated by Froment, then by Bourseul, in 
1854. — Becquerel(i788-i878) invented permanent batteries. — In 
i860. Plants gave the principle of the accumulator. — Lartigue 
invented the electro-semaphore, for the use of railways, in 1864. 
— Electric telegraph constructed by Baudot in 1875. —The expe- 
rimental " cohereur " of Branly (1890) preceded by six years 
the wireless apparatus of Marconi. — The wireless telephone 
was invented by Colin and Jeance in 1909. 

Navigation. —In 1776, Jouffroy d'Abbans navigated a ^a^^ii/e- 
steamer on the Doubs, then another on the Saone at Lyons, in 
1783. — Duguet had recommended, as early as 1693, the appli- 
cation of screw-propellers to navigation. Sauvage realized this 
about 1810 ; but Napoleon took no notice of his little boat on 
the Tuileries basin. — Ascon, in 1782, invented fire-proof 
armoured battleships. — Benjamin Normand invented first 
compound ship-engine (1859); adopted in England at once ; 
used in France 30 years later. — Z6de, in 1886, built the Gym- 
note, and Laubeuf, almost at the same time, the Narval; these two 
were the first practical submarines. 

Aeronautics. — 1783 : Montgolfier brothers, paper-makers, 
invented and used the first balloons. — Blanchard, aeronaut 
(1753-1803) invented the parachute. — Giffard (1852) applied 
steam to dirigible balloons. — Dupuy de Lome applied to them 
internal variable bladders (1872). — Tissandier (1883) used 
dynamo-electric motors. — Capt. Renard and Capt. Kreps (1884) 
reached 13 kil. an hour (electric motors). — Santos-Dumont 
(1901), by using a French motor (Dion-Bouton) obtained proper 
speed. — Lebaudy Bros., Julliot, Deutsch de la Meurthe, 
Tatin, Clement, etc., improved the dirigible ; its speed attained 

— 335 - 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

40 miles an hour in 1914. — The rigid dirigible, first thought of 
in England in 1809, was first built in Fiance by Spiess 
in 1913- 

P^NAUD, between 1872 and 1877, invented the stabilizer used 
by Chanute ; and discussed fully all the problems of flying 
in " L'Aeronaute ", taking out, in 1876, a patent for an aeroplane 
very similar to that used by the brothers ' Wright ; it included 
planes, rudders, twin-propellers, and the use of a light motor 
(by Lenoir) . — Tatin (1879) flew an aeroplane worked by compressed 
air. — L. Mouillard published in 1881 his "Empire de I'air" ; 
Chanute made his acquaintance in Paris in 1889, kept in cor- 
respondence with him, and learned from him " gauchissement " 
(warping the planes), which Chanute was to transmit to the 
brothers Wright. — Tatin and Richet (1897) flew 140 metres. 
— Capt. Ferber had been planing since i8gg. — Santos- 
DuMONT (1906) flew 60 metres. — The brothers Wright flew in 
France in 1908. — The first real air journey was accomplished 
by Farman (French) in 1908 (27 kil. in 21 minutes). — Bl^riot 
crossed the Channel in July 1909. — Chavez flew over the 
Simplon in 1910. — Brindejonc des Moulinais flew from 
Paris to Warsaw, and Garros crossed the Mediterranean, 
in 1913. 

New bodies and processes. — Artificial Soda, prepared by 
Leblanc (1742-1806). — Artificial alum .• Chaptal(i8oi). 

Sulphuric acid extracted from pyrites, by Perret Bros. Lyons. 
Soda from sea-salt by Schloesing, 1855 (Solvay process). 

Steel, : new process found by Martin, in 1865. 

Synthesis of alcohol by Berthelot, then of acetylene, fat 
bodies, etc., from 1862. — Synthetic citric acid : Grimaux (1835- 
1900). — Synthetic menthol, by Haller (b. 1849). 

Gallium, Samarium, Dyprosium, isolated by Lecoq de Bois- 
BAUDRAN (1875-1886). — Artificial ruby, first produced by Frj&my 
(1877). — Artificial ^Ma?'^^',by Hautefeuille(i878). — Fluor, first 
obtained by Moissan (1886). — Electric furnace, invented by 
MoissAN, 1892, produced carbide of calcium, artificial diamond, 
(1893); chlorate of potash, giving cheddite (produced at Cheddes, 
in Dauphine). 

Radiation of uranium, observed by H. Becquerel (1896); of 
thorium, observedbyMme Curie. ■ — Po/oMwm, isolated by Mr. and 
Mme Curie. — Chloride of I'a^iMw, by Mme Curie and Bl^mont 
(1899). — Actinium, isolated by Debierne (1900). — Radium, by 
Mme Curie and Debierne (1910). 

Compound ammonias, glycol, aldol, etc., prepared by Wurtz 
(1817-1884). — Nitrogen as food for plants, discovered by 
G. ViLLE ( 1 824-1 899), who first recommended the use of phos- 
phates in agriculture. — Microbes in agriculture ; how some of 
them fix nitrogen in the soil, found by Berthelot (1883). — 
Qreen crops as manures, first studied by Deh6rain (b. 1830). 

■^ 236 — 



SCIENCE AND INVENTION 

Chemical dyes : fuchsine, extracted from coal-tar by Verguin 
(Lyons, 1859); blue of Lyons and imperial violet : Girard and 
DE Laire; violet of Paris : Lauth. 

" Portland " cement, inv. by Demarles and Dupont (Bou- 
logne), 1866. 

Liquefaction of "permanent" gases: Cailletet (1832-1914). 

Liquid air obtained by machinery : Claude (1901). 

Ozone obtained by electricity, by Berthelot. 

Artificial silk, invented by Chardonnet, 1889. 

Aluminium extracted by electrolytic process, by H^roult, 
1889. 

Various, and Engineering. — Pascal (1623-1662) invented a 
calculating-machine, the hydraulic press (1649), the omnibus, the 
wheel-barrow, and the dray. 

Vaucanson(i709-i782) has never been surpassed in the making 
of automata ; a duck built by him could walk, swim, quack, eat, 
and... digest ! 

Hauy (Valentin) invented typography in relievo (1784) for the 
use of the blind. 

Jacquard : the famous loom bearing his name (1790). 

Chappe brothers, in 1794, constructed and used the first aerial 
telegraph, imagined by Amontons (1663-1705). 

CoNDAMiNE : first made caoutchouc known in Europe (1736). 

Montgolfier : hydraulic ram (1796). 

Robert : continuous paper-machine (1799). 

De Girard : flax jenny (1809). 

Gay-Lussac : alcolholmeter (1824). 

Braille : himself a blindman, inv. relievo writing {i8og-i8 52). 

Sommeillier : first rock-drill, for the cutting of Mont Cenis 
Tunnel (1857). Thimonnier : Sewing-machine (Lyons, 1850). 

Edoux r first hydraulic lift (1857). 

CouvREUx : excavators for Suez Canal (i860). 

TuRPiN : invented melinite, in 1877 : followed by panclastites, 
pyrodialites, etc. 

F^Lix and Chri^tien : electric plough (1879). 

ViEiLLE : smokeless powder (1880). 

Bertillon : anthropometry ; first applied in 1880. 

DussAUD : microphono graph (1897). 

Gaumont : chronophone (1907). 

Cotton and Mouton : ultra-microscope (ab. 1900) : objects no 
larger than i : 200,000th of a millimeter made observable. 

Tellier : (1828-1915), invented cold storage — and died in 
poverty ! 

Brunel ( 1 769-1 849) built the first tunnel under the Thames ; 
his son built the "Leviathan" and the " Great Eastern ". Tunnel 
under Mont-Cenis : 13, 400 yards (1857-1871) ; under Saint-Gothard: 
16,390 yards (1872-1882) ; under Simplon : 21,720 yards (1898- 
1905) ; Suez Canal(i859-i869) ; Panama Canal designed and begun 

- 237 — 



SCULPTUBE 

(1875-1889); Eiffel Tower : 390 feet(i889). — The most powerful 
lighthouse in the world was built at Penmarch (Brittany) 
in 1897 : 3 million burners; average visibility : 145 miles. 

Etc. — 

Books recommended : Histoire de France, 1870-1913 (Larousse) ; la Science 
jranfaise (2 vol. Larousse) — E. Picard, la Science moderne (Flammarion). 

SCULPTURE. — Our best architecture is not recent, our best 
music is not old, but we have always excelled in sculpture. The 
large quantity of suitable material found in most parts of France 
has done much to create and preserve the national taste for carv- 
ing. There is in Touraine, for instance, a variety of limestone 
which is soft when just extracted, and hardens after exposure to 
the air ; this probably accounts to a great extent for the delicate 
tracery and miniature carvings of so many chapels and chateaux 
by the Loire. The very farms in Touraine are generally adorned 
with sculpture ; a vine-branch laden with green or black grapes 
is often carved over the door of the vinegrower. Marble is found 
in the Pyrenees and the Alps ; Picardy and Artois lie mostly on 
chalk ; Paris is built over limestone ; Champagne is chalk. . . The 
soldiers who have spent any time in the Somme trenches may 
remember how inevitably they took to carving the badges of 
their regiments, then small guns or candle-stands, then fancy por- 
traits and more ambitious likenesses, out of the chalk of the trench. 

In the First Century A. D., a sculptor born in Marseilles, Zeno- 
DORUS, erected a gigantic statue of Mercury on the top of Puy-de- 
Dome (Central Range), and one of Nero, 100 feet high, in Rome. 
He was probably a Greek (although that statue in Auvergne to the 
favourite god of the Gauls proves that he was in close touch with 
the Celts); but this first name in the history of sculpture in France 
is worth recording here, because the tradition of Greek statuary 
never disappeared entirely from the South of France. 

When the great barbaric invasions had spent themselves, and 
feudal France arose, our art varied with the different provinces. 
Scanty, awkward, and devoid of beauty in Auvergne ; Byzantine 
at first, then realistic about Toulouse ; profuse but commonplace 
in the West, passionate but ignorant in Burgundy ; limited in the 
North to decoration borrowed from the vegetable world : such 
was our sculpture in the Romanesque period of our architecture. 

With the birth of Gothic, Northern statuary developed above 
all others. As in early Greek art, the pillars became statues, 
ungainly at first ; then a closer study of nature began : the statues 
began to live and move. Thousands of them peopled the cathe- 
drals. They owed little to antiquity ; South and North had 
little in common at the time ; they were just portraits of French 
people, by French " imagiers ". 

They are not exclusively figures of Saints, nor was the inspiration 
of their makers always ascetic. Those of Rheims are often world- 

— 238 — 



SCULPTURE 



ly those of Bourges are passionate. They were the picture-book 
of people who could not read, and described every aspect of life 
that could admit of spiritual interpretation. And the book had 
an ample margin for fancy... , , , 

Therefore the French family of those days, at work or at play, 
the Heavenly Hosts and the most unearthly monsters, scenes and 
implements of daily 
toil, illustrated pro- 
verbs, humorous or ri- 
bald details, amid a 
profusion of ornaments 
borrowed from leaf and 
flower, cover our ca- 
thedrals with such pro- 
digality, and are so clo- 
sely interwoven with 
the deep tympans, sharp 
gables, corners and cor- 
nices, arches and capi- 
tals, buttresses, win- 
dows and lanterns, that 
the Gothic church seems 
one enormous piece of 
sculpture. 

Upon this period of 
unfettered production, 
followed a brief respite 
of quiet realism, purely 
French also ( Michel 
CoLOMBE, seepage 171) 
giving us powerful bur- 
ial scenes, and life-like 
effigies on noble tombs. 
But the gradual evolu- 
tion from religious 
dreams to the two great 
earthly realities ; death 
and love, was to go 
further, and the sculp- 
tors of the Renaissance, 
partly under the gui- 
dance of Italy , were soon 
bent on affording joy to 
the senses by combining 
classical nudes with the suitable legends of pagan times. Sculp- 
ture deserted or desecrated the churches, and made the palaces and 
their gardens beautiful. Pierre Lescot, Jean Goujon, Ger- 
main PiLON, BoNTEMPs, Bachelier, of Toulouse, and Ligier 
Richer, of Lorraine, were the eminent sculptors of that period. 




Our Lady of Rheims 

A statue of the Xlllth century. The influence 

of Greek models is visible in the arrangement of 

the hair and drapery ; but the subdued smile and 

the e.xpression in general are modern and French. 



239 



SCULPTURE 

in the early part of the XVIIth century, statuary is still absent 
from the churches, and painting absorbs the efforts of our artists. 
Medals and busts (the latter an Italian importation) maintain 
among us a tradition of accuracy. Later, a masterly sculptor , 
CoYSEVox, and Girardon and Coustou, far less personal, mul- 
tiplied the royal effigies, and created the graceful Olympus cf 
Versailles, in that style of Louis XIV, which believed in the 
classical, aimed at the absolute, and rose but seldom above the 
impersonal. Meanwhile, a popular genius, Puget, sculptor, 
architect, painter, and engineer, carved vigorous figure-heads 
for the King's galleys at Toulon, or designed a new harbour for 
Marseilles. 

In the XVIIIth century, some of our sculpture acquired person- 
ality and subtlety, but less markedly than our painting. Our 
sculpture at the time ruled the Western world, with Bouchardon, 
two other Coustous, Clodion, Houdon, Falconet, Pajou, 
PiGALLE. Houdon was called to America, there to carve the 
portrait of Washington ; Falconet spent twelve years in Saint- 
Petersburg over his colossal statues of Peter the Great. 

Romanticism, with David d'Angers and Rude, tried to render 
contemporary passions and emotions without departing too far 
from classical canons; while Pradier simply persisted in the style 
of smooth soft statuary borrowed from Italy by men of the pre- 
vious generation. Barye, on the contrary, portrayed wild ani- 
mals with unusual force, thus re-introducing into his art the full 
energy of nature. 

Fecent statuary. The names of Barrias, Falgui^re, Fr^miet, 
Merci6, are familiar ; they mainly drew their inspiration from the 
statuary of Florence in the xvth century, and the whole spirit 
of their work is of the South. 

Carpeaux, a Northerner like Barye, studied human figure and 
human movement as he saw them in the France of his time (Opera, 
Luxembourg). 

Bartholdi, Dalou, Bartholom^, did not attempt to alter the 
technique of their art, but applied it to new objects: they work- 
ed for the masses. Bartholdi's statue of Liberty in New York 
Harbour has gained as wide fame as the "Marseillaise " for the 
same reasons. To Paris, Dalou gave the Triumph of the Republic, 
and Bartholome his Monument to the Dead, which expresses the 
feelings of modern man in the presence of death. 

As we write this page, the death is announced of Rodin, the 
greatest artist of our times (born : Paris, 1840). He eludes defi- 
nition ; he has been called a romantic because he was per- 
sonal — yet he was a worshipper of Greek art ; he had modelled 
for our Society of Authors a Balzac which they refused because 
it was so extravagantly distant from reality, — but his Bronze 
Age had been publicly reported as cast from life, because it 
was so perfectly realistic. If any one phrase may attempt to 

— 240 — 



SITUATION AND CONSEQUENCES 

give an idea of the man, let us say that he could have adorned a 
whole cathedral. He had intended to carve or cast a number of 
statues (the " Penseur " was to be one), for a gigantic Gate of the 
Inferno ; a truly mediaeval 
conception, which he never 
carried out. He was born 
too late ; only in the days 
of Saint Louis could his 
genius have had full scope. 
He said once to a friend, 
as they were looking toge- 
ther at some photographs 
of Rheims : •' We are now 
no more than the wreckage 
(" Nous ne sommes plus 
que des epaves "). The 
friend was Mr. Andre Mi- 
chel, the well-known art- 
critic, who understood, he 
says, how fully and bitterly 
Rodin realized that, by lack 
of a great national archi- 
tecture, his hfework was 
doomed to fragmentation 
and dispersion. 

Books recommended. — Hour- (Photo Bulloz.) 

ticq, Ars Una. France (Hachette, „ ^ ^ , „ 

7 fr. 50).— L. Gonse, la Sculpture Rodin's " La Pensee . 

franfaise (Paris, 1895). (Luxembourg Museum.) 




SITUATION AND CONSEQUENCES.— France is the only country 
in Europe where North and South have equal force : its ter- 
ritory extends from the North Sea to the Mediterranean. From 
this exceptional situation follow essential characteristics. 

One is that the productions of the land are extraordinarily 
varied : France is worth looting, or annexing, more than any 
other land in Europe ; it tempts the man from the South as much 
as the Northerner. France is a garden. 

Another is that practically any European country can best 
fight its enemies, or join hands with its allies, by using all or part 
of French territory as a causeway or a fighting-ground : France 
has enormous European strategic importance. France is a cross- 
roads. 

Thus is our history entirely dominated by one ever present fac- 
tor : invasion actual or imminent, occupation by friend or foe, 
WAR waged against us, by us, or amongst us. 

This might have led to the annihilation of France as a nation. 

SAILLEN3 — 241 — 16 



SITUATION AND CONSEQUENCES 




Showing traditional trade-routes and centres (East), and main battle-fields (West). 

Engl. d. 1429; 



1. Azincourt : English v. 1415. 

2. Bapaume : Germans v. 1871 ; 

Germ. d. 19 17. 

3. Beauvais : Burgund. d. 1472. 

4. Bethune : Engl. v. 1710. 

5. Bouvines : Germ., Engl. 

and Flemings d, 1214. 

6. Calais : Engl. v. 1347; d. 

1558. 

7. Cassel : Flera. d. 1328 ; 

Dutch d. 1677 ; Germ, 
d. 1914. 

8. Hondschoote : Engl. Dutch 

and.Austr. d. 1793. 

9. CrtScy Engl. v. 1346. 

10. Fontenoy ; Engl. d. 1745, 

11. Fumes : Flem. d. 1297. 

12. Charleroi : Germ, v. 1914, 



Malplaquet : Engl. v. 1709. 
Mons : Engl. v. 1709 ; 

Germ. V. 1914. 
Mons-en-Pev61e : Flem. d. 

1304. 
Rocroy : Spanish d. 1643. 
Saint-duentin : Span. v. 1557. 
Soissons : Romans d. 486 ; 

Neustrians d. 719 ; Germ. 

d. 1914. 
Waterloo : Engl. v. 1705, 

1815, 1914. 
Ypres : Span. d. 1628 , 

Germ. d. 1914. 
Jarnac ; Protestants d. 1 569. 
Marne valley : Huns d 

450 ; Austro-Germ. d, 

1S14; Germ. d. 1914. 

242 



23. Orleans 
Germ. v. 1S70. 

24. Paris : see Paris. 

25. Patay : Engl. d. 1429 ; 

Germ. v. 1S70. 

26. Poitiers ; Arabs d. 732 

Engl. V. 1356. 

27. Rheims : Germ. d. ri24 ; 

d. 1914. 

28. Taillebourg : Engl.d. 1242. 

29. Valmy : Prussians d. 1792- 

30. Vouille : Visigoths d. 507. 

31. Castillon ; Engl, d 1453. 

32. Toulouse : Albigenses d, 

1218 ; Engl. V. 1814. 

33. Lyons; 34. Marseilles; and 

35. Champagne fairs 
(see Fairs). 



SITUATION AND CONSEQUENCES 




' 600 feet 



Showing main war-routes (and the great battle area) in the West. 

Situationandconsequences.— Thismap.and the precedent, show how geogra- 
phy will assert itself in the life of a nation. — I. On the trade-routes followed by 
the Pheniciaiis and the Greeks, our fairs in the Middle Ages were located (see 
page 77) ; it is still our main trade-route, as is shown by the earnings of our rail- 
ways (see Nord, Est, P. L. M., page 216). — II. The long plain extending between 
our mountains and our West coast is at the same time the most complete garden 
in Europe, and the great battle-field of the West. The great battles of to-day are 
still fought in the same N.-W. area as those in the days of Attila. — III. A glance 
at this map suffices to show why the neutrality of Belgium and Holland is 
essential to the peace of Europe; also the terrible consequences to us of German 
mastery over the left bank of the Rhine (see page 78.) 

For particulars >i the battles, see precedent page; (d = defeated ; v = victorious). 
Our list is far from complete; the English alone, in Flanders alone, and in the 
xviith and xvntih centuries only, fought on at least 55 points. 

— 243 — 



Situation and consequences 

But that exceptional situation has some redeeming consequences 
as well : 

a) The productions being so varied, the Frenchman has always 
been a comparatively rich and skilful peasant ; he has always had 
more capital and more ingenuity on his side, man for man, than 
any other European. 

b) Besides, it paid him to remain on the land, and therefore the 
military resources of his country were always fairly high : a good 
farmer makes a good soldier {ex agricultura strenuissimi milites, 
so Pliny said, and a Roman's opinion on the subject is worth 
having). 

c) Again, the variety of climates implies a complex, elastic 
race. What was lost or endangered through the undue prevalence 
of one ethnical or psychological element, was regained or saved 
by another : France is the land of surprises, and of balance. 

d) Lastly, precisely because we are in a central position, we 
always found some neighbour who could and would help us against 
the enemy of the time being. The autonomy of France is essential 
to the liberties of Europe ; no European nation can afford to allow 
another to annex that " Central Junction " and " Premier Gar- 
den " of the Old World. 

Always in danger, therefore, and yet always able to find help, 
France has never been allowed to live in isolation, " splendid " or 
otherwise. Her neighbours have ahvays interfered with her 
national development ; and whereas the English Revolution of 
1648 was almost a family affair, the French were not allowed 
to deal with their own " traitor-king, " 150 years later (!) 
without giving an account of themselves to the whole of Europe 
in arms. 

There is, we believe, another and less selfish reason, for the some- 
times painful interest which our neighbours have always taken in 
our doings, small or great. Because we are in the heart of Europe, 
because our land has been the meeting place of nations, and 
because invasions, immigrations and differences of climates, have 
made our race a fairly mixed one, the ideas and forces prevailing 
in the various parts of Europe are all represented in our midst. 
We are, we believe, the sensorium commune of the civilized 
world, the testing-chamber of its social experiments, the best 
judges all round of European arts and literatures. Therefore 
we do exert an influence, whether we like it or not, on our neigh- 
bours' affairs and pleasures, and it might be said that what is 
French is not merely French, but European also. We glory in it 
sometimes ; there is no doubt that we have paid for it dearly. 

Those few essential facts explain most of the characteristics of 
our national life and history, from our famous cooking, to our no 
less famous revolutions (conflicts between the most advanced 
ideas in Europe, and the strong conservatism and centraliza- 
tion necessary to our safety), from our apparent levity to our 

— 244 — ' 



SOIXANTE QUINZE " 

quiet earnestness, from our excitability to our incredible 
patience... 

In a word, the fertile contrasts of our national temperament 
and the paradoxes of our history can best be explained, directly 
or indirectly, by our exceptional situation, our exceptional blend- 
ing of North and South. 

One recent opinion on our immediate fiittive. — " The France 
of to-morrow will be the France of to-day, because to-morrow 
she will be faced by the same implacable dilemma : either 
subordinate all things to military effort, or die. It can 
never be repeated often enough : the present war is but one hor- 
rible episode of a relentless struggle which our enemies will never 
desist from. 

" The present conflict can end but in one of the three follow- 
ing manners. Either we shall be victorious this time, and 
the Germans will never cease till they have their revenge. We 
may render this difficult by breaking up the unity of the Empire, 
but the full strain of all our might will barely suffice to keep it 
thus divided. Or again it will be a drawn game, and it will 
have to be played over again. Or lastly... But I will not face 
this last hypothesis. It is in such an eventuality most of all that 
the French would have to be nothing else but soldiers. Whether 
we like it or not, the France of to-morrow will have to be a 
military France." (Junius, in the Echo de Paris.) 



" SOIXANTE-QUINZE " (" Le glorieuxys "). — We invariably 
designate our guns by the diameter of their bore at the muzzle 
in millimeters; our light field-gun has a bore of almost exactly 
three inches. 

It was invented in 1890 by Lieutenant-Colonel Deport, with 
the assistance of Commandant Rimailho and Capitaine Sainte- 
Claire-Deville. Rimailho worked more especially on, and gave 
his name to the well-known hydro-pneumatic brake, which brings 
back the gun exactly to its first position after every discharge. 
The gun being laid, it can fire 20 shots a minute, on good ground, 
as accurately as one. 

More remarkable still, if less widely known, is the device called 
" hausse indipendante " [independent sight), which allows one 
to aim at objectives situated on a slope as easily as if they were on 
level ground. 

Every part of the gun is remarkably robust and reliable. The 
destructive power of the gun is unusual. It fires two sorts of 
shells : i. shrapnells, containing about 300 bullets of 12 grammes ; 
2. high explosives, holding about 26 oz. of "melinite " , i. e. picric 
acid rendered practicable by an ingenious process due to 
M. Turpin. 

Its maximum range used to be 6,500 metres ; it has been carried 
to about 8,000, 

— 245 — 



SOLDIERS 

The " 75 " has proved invaluable to us in this war, partly because 
its excellence, partly... because we had practically no other gun 
in the early stages of the war. 

The victory of the Marne was largely due to its rapid action 
and the power of its high explosives. 

Books recommended. — p. Lintier, Ma piice {Plon, 3 fr. 50). — Th. Schloe- 
sing, Le " 73" (Berger-Levrault, o fr. 40). — F. Marre, Notre " 75" (Bloud, 
o fr. 60). 

SOLDIERS. — The Roman conquest was opposed for several 
years by Camulog:6;ne, who was finally defeated by Caesar's lieu- 
tenant, Labienus ; and by Vercingetorix, a gallant fighter of 
noble blood and great ability, who, being forced to surrender at 
last in Alesia, in 52 B. C, was taken to Rome and beheaded 
there, after 6 years' emprisonment, on the occasion of Caesar's 
triumph. 

Roman occupation was fought by two Gaulish chiefs, Julius 
Florus, and Julius Sacrovir, about 21 A. D.; also by Sabinus, 
in 70 A. D. — Sabinus, being defeated, lay in hiding for nine 
years under ground ; his wife Eponine kept him supplied with food. 
He was discovered, and sent to Rome, Eponine following him ; 
both were put to death by order of Vespasian. 

King Clovis, King Dagobert, Charles Martel, P^pin le 
Bref, Charlemagne (See page 91, and Index). 

Roland and Olivier: nephews of Charlemagne; Roland perish- 
ed in a valley of the Pyrenees, killed by the Arabs (See page 124). 

Robert le Fort (Duke) fought the Normans; killed in battle 866. 

EuDES, his son, defended Paris from the Normans in 886 ; King 
in 887. 

Henry of Burgundy, and his son, founded the Kingdom of 
Portugal, 1095-1140. 

GuiLLAUME de Normandie, conquered England 1066. 

GoDEFROY de Bouillon (Duke) led the First Crusade, and took 
Jerusalem (1097-1099); refused title of " King of Jerusalem, " as 
he would not " wear a crown of gold where Jesus had worn a crown 
of thorns ; " consented to being made " Baron of the Holy-Sepul- 
chre. 

Philippe-Auguste, King (See page 92). 

Baudouin, Count of Flanders; led 4th Crusade, 1 202-1 204, and 
took Constantinople ; made " Emperor of the East. " 

Simon de Montfort, a ruthless Northerner, led Crusade against 
Albigenses; conquered the South ; died before Toulouse 12 16. 

Saint Louis, King (See page 92). 

Charles OF An J ou, brother of Saint Louis, conquered Naples 
and Sicily ; King of both in 1266. 

Robert of Artois (Count), nephew of Saint Louis, conquered 
Flanders 1297 ; lost it and died, at Courtrai, 1302 (Fl. reconquered 
1304)- 

— 246 — 



SOLDIERS 

Beaumanoir (Sire de), captain of Josselin, in Brittany, challeng- 
ed Bembro, English Governor of Ploermel. 30 English and 30 
Breton knights fought until all were killed or disabled. Bembro 
was killed, and the English defeated. Beaumanoir, grievously 
wounded, asked for a draught of water. " Drink thy blood, " 
answered his friend Dubois ; the saying has remained famous, as 
indicative of the savage single-mindedness of the combatants 
(1352). 

Grand Ferre;, a peasant of gigantic size and strength, who 
killed 45 English with his pole-axe in one encounter. As he lay 
ill in bed, 12 English came to murder him. " My poor Grand 
Ferre, " said his wife, " here are the English come to kill you! " 
He rose from his bed, took his pole-axe, killed five men ; the 
others fled. The giant then drank a little cold water, lay down 
again, and died. (1360). (See page 169.) 

DuGUESCLiN, a Breton, a hard fighter, and a great heart ; a 
popular hero (1321-1380). He was besieging a town in central 
France which the English Governor had promised to surrender by 
a certain date if no succour had been sent to him. On the day 
named the Goyernor marched in state to the tent of Duguesclin ; 
the latter was dying. The Governor put down the keys of the 
city on Duguesclin's bed, and said : " Here are the keys of the 
city entrusted to my defence by the King of England ; I surrender 
them to the most gallant knight who has lived for more than a 
hundred years. " He was buried in Saint-Denis Abbey, with 
our Kings. 

Olivier de Clisson, a Breton, first an opponent, then the loyal 
second of Duguesclin, whom he succeeded as Lord High Con- 
stable. 

DuNOis, La Hire, Xaintrailles fought the English under 
Charles VII. Dunois took Bordeaux in 1451. 

Charles le T^mi^raire (Chariest he Bold of Burgundy) (See 
Peronne, Index : Burgundy, and read Walter Scott's Quentin 
Durward.) 

La Tr^moille, La Palisse, Louis d'Ars, Bayard were the 
captains of Louis XII. Bayard was born in Dauphine in 1476, and 
died in Italy in 1524, after serving three kings: Charles VIII, 
Louis XII, and Francis I. He was the " chevalier sans peur et 
sans reproche " by whom Francis insisted on being knighted on 
the battle-field of Marignan. The military genius of the period 
was Gaston de Foix, a nephew of Louis XII, who died at 22, 
in 1512, after a lightning campaign in Italy. 

MoNTLUc, a captain of Francis I, defeated Charles V at Cerisoles, 
in Italy 1544. 

Franqois de Guise defended Metz, against Charles V in 1552, 
and recovered Calais from the English in 1558. 

Conn:6table de Montmorency and Admiral de Colignv 
saved Paris from, the Spanish in 1557. 

— 247 — 



SOLDIERS 

CoNDi; (Prince of — , Louis I de Bourbon), born 1530, led the 
Huguenot armies, and xiied in 1569, at Jarnac. 

CoND6(Prince of — .Louis II de B.surnamed"/e Grand Condi") 
great-grandson of the preceding, born Paris 1621, defeated the 
Spanish at Rocroj? (1643), the Bavarians at Freiburg (1644), and 
the Austrians at Nordlingen (1645) and Lens (1648). Joined the 
" Fronde " , and served Spain, with little success ; was pardoned, 
defeated William of Orange at Senef (1674) and retired, after a 
last successful campaign in Alsace, to his Chateau of Chantilly, 
where he died in 1686. 

Henri de Guise (Duke — , son of Francois) led the Catholic 
" Ligue " against the Huguenots and Henry of Navarre; was 
defeated at Coutras in 1587, and was murdered the following year 
by order of the King. The King, being also murdered in 1589, 
was succeeded by : 

Henri de Navarre, a brave, shrewd, genial man, altogether 
popular in France to the present day. He was a complete soldier, 
and had to fight his way to the crown. One of his favourite cap- 
tains was Crillon, to whom he wrote one day, after an important 
engagement : " Hang yourself, gallant Crillon ; we fought, and 
you were not present. " 

Rohan (Duke), leadet of the Protestant armies against Riche- 
lieu ; 1628-1629. 

Montmorency (Duke, and Field-Marshal), victorious inPiemont 
(1630), Rose against Richelieu, was defeated at Castelnaudary, 
and beheaded at Toulouse in 1632. 

Richelieu (Cardinal), 1583-1642, was a strategist as well as a 
diplomat, and effaced all the French generals of his time, though 
no soldier himself. His lieutenants were Chatillon, Rantzau, 
d'Harcourt, Guebriant, Fabert ; besides, he enlisted the services 
of Bernard, Duke of Saxe- Weimar, who conquered Alsace for him 
in 1638, while the Swedish generals Gustavus Adolphus, Torten- 
sen. Banner, served him against the German emperor. 

TuRENNE (Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount, Field, — 
Marshal). Born at Sedan 1611, killed at Salzbach 1675. Our 
greatest soldier after Napoleon ; Napoleon said that Turenne was 
second only to Hannibal. Fought and defeated disloj^al Conde. 
Several remarkable campaigns in Germany and Flanders. He 
was much loved by his men, of whom he took affectionate 
care. When he died, struck by a cannon-ball, his men cried, 
saying : " We have lost our father. " Louis XIV wanted 
to have him buried at Saint-Denis with Duguesclin. He had 
been born a Huguenot, and was converted to Catholicism by 
Bossuet. It was he who said one day, as he was riding to battle : 
" Do you tremble, body of mine ? Well, you would tremble 
indeed, if you knew where I am taking you ! " i" Tu trernbles. 
carcasse/... ") 

^ 248 ^ 



SOLDIERS 

Catinat (Field-Marshal) was another general of Louis XIV. 
His men had nicknamed him " le Pere la Pensee " (Old Think- 
Hard). Able and reliable, he was, Louis said, " the only person 
in my Kingdom who has never askedme for anything. " B. 1637 ; 
d. 1 71 2. Victorious at Staffarde and Marsaille, over the duke of 
Savoy. 

Vauban (S. Le Prestre, Seigneur de — , Field-Marshal, 1633- 
1707), one of the greatest engineers of modern times; he " pould 
take any fortified place, and then make it impregnable. " He 
presented to Louis XIV, toward the end of his reign, a scheme 
for a lighter and fairer taxation of the poor ; Louis waved the 
scheme aside, and Vauban disappeared from the Court. He had 
been born in a one-room cottage. 

VEND6ME(Duke, Field. Marshal), 1654-1712, a great-grandson 
of Henry IV, and one of the best generals of Louis XIV. 
Victory of Villaviciosa, over Spanish and English armies (1710) ; 
victorious expedition in Italy, etc. 

ViLLARS (Duke, Field-Marshal), 1 653-1 734. Saved us from 
invasion, at Denain (Nord) in 171 2, when all hopes were gone. 
Germany, in 1702, 1703 ; died in Italy, after a brilliant campaign. 

Luxembourg (F. de Montmorency, Duke, Field-Marshal), 
1628-1695. Had been nicknamed " le tapissier de Notre-Dame, " 
on account of the frequent occasions on which flags taken by 
him adorned Notre-Dame. 

BouFFLERS (Duke, Field-Marshal). Held Lille two months 
against Prince Eugene, never surrendering before he had received a 
written order from Louis XIV, who made him Peer of the Realm. 

Chevert, a native of Verdun, rose by sheer merit from pri- 
vate to general, under Louis XV ! (See : War-French " Poilu "). 

NoAiLLES (Duke, Field-Marshal), and Maurice de Saxe were the 
two best soldiers of Louis XV, the latter being a foreigner 
in his pay. — Dupleix and Montcalm were unfortunate, but 
distinguished. 

La Fayette and Rochambeau led French troops in America 
under Louis XVI. 

The best-known generals of the Revolution were : Carnot, 
Dumouriez (Valmy), Hoche, Jourdan, Kellermann, Kl^ber, 
Marceau, Bonaparte, etc. 

Napoleon was seconded by Augereau, Bernadotte, (later 
King of Sweden), Berthier, Bessi^res, Brune, Junot, 
Lannes, Lef^byre, Macdonald, Mass^na, Murat (King of 
Naples), Ney ( " le brave des braves "), Moncey, Moreau, 
Mortier, Mouton-Duvernet, Soult, Oudinot, etc. 

General Maison, in 1828, led the French expedition to Greece 
GiRAUD and Haxo took Antwerp in 1837. 

Marshal Clausel and the Due d'Orl^ans; then General 
BuGEAUD, the Due d'Aumale and the Prince de Joinvillb 
conquered Algeria, 1836-1847. 

— 249 —• 



SOMME (DEPARTMENT OF) 

The names of Pelissier, Canrobert, Mac-Mahon, are asso- 
ciated with the expedition to the Crimea ; and Mac-Mahon at 
Magenta (1859) ended Austrian rule in Italy. 

Mac-Mahon, Faidherbe, Bourbaki, Chanzy and Colonel 
Denfert-Rochereau, fought gallantly and long against heavy 
odds in 1870-1871. 

Since then, our Colonies have been conquered, explored, pre- 
served, or administered, by Archinard (fought Ahmadou and 
Samory, 1888-91); Binger (exped. to Niger, 1888); Bonnier, 
(occup. of Timbuctoo, 1894); Borgnis-Desbordes (Niger, 
1880-81); Bri^re de l'Isle (Senegal, 1875 ; Tuyen Quan, 1885); 
Chanzy (organized Algeria, 1873-1879); Admiral Courbet 
(Tongking, 1883); Dodds (Dahomey, 1892-94); Domin:6 (defence 
of Tuyen Quan, 1885); Duchesne (Madagascar, 1895) ; Flatters 
(Sahara, 1881) ; Gallieni (Ahmadou and Samory, 1886-88 ; 
Governor of Madag. 1896-1905) Galliffet (El Golea, 1872-73); 
Gentil (Tchad, 1897-1900) ; Joffre (See page 115) ; Mangin 
(Marrakech, 1912) ; Marchand (from Congo to Nile, 1897-98) ; 
Moll (Ouadai, 1910) ; Monteil (Tchad, 1891) ; N^grier 
(Tongking, 1885); Saussier (S. Algeria, 1881), etc. 

The best -known generals in this war, besides Field-Marshal 
Joffre, are : 

Anthoine (i860) ; Balfourier (1852) ; Cordonnier (1858) ; 
CuRi^RES DE Castelnau (1851) ; Dubail (1851); Duch^ne 
(1862); Foch(i85i); Franchet d'Espi^rey (1856) ; Gallieni 

(1849-I916); GOURAUD (1867); LANGLE DE CaRY (1849); 

LiAUTEY (1854); Mangin (1861); Maunoury (1847); Pau (1848); 

P^TAIN (1856); SaRRAIL (1856). 

Books recommended. — On the French soldier in the past : the Memoires 
dii Sergent Bourgogne (1812), and the tales of d'EsparMs. On the Fr. soldier in this 
war : Barbusse : le Feu ; Benjamin : Gaspard ; d'Esparbes : Ceux de Van 14 ; 
Boudon : Avec Charles Peguy (Hachette, 3 fr. 50). 

SOMME (DEPART. OF). — This Department coincides very nearly 
with the old Province of Picardy. Its "chef-lieu" is Amiens. 
It has the shape of a long rectangle, stretching N.-W. to S.-E. ; 
it takes its name from the river that crosses it lengthwise. 

Its general formation is that of a plateau rising from 250 to 500 
feet, cut by up marshy valleys. Characteristic of the Department 
are little terraces found in the dry valleys ; those " rideaux " are 
serious obstacles to the progress of troops across country, as the 
difference in levels often reaches 6 feet. The valleys are gene- 
rally covered with peat-bogs ; the pits cut in them, called 
" entailles " , often preclude the crossing of valleys except along 
the roads. 

The sub-strata is chalk, which is apparent everywhere on the 
sides of hills and at the bottom of valleys. Over it lie deposits of 
clay and gravel, which are never more than 36 feet deep. Those 

— 250 — 



SOMME (DEPARTMENT OF) 

. deposits are fertile. As they are porous as well, the people who 
live on the plateau have to depend on very deep wells, or on 
cisterns. The water of rivers, having as a rule passed over beds 
of peat, is not free from sediment, but it is innocuous, and 
exclusively used in many villages. 

The climate belongs to the N.-W. regime ; it is damp, variable, 
yet temperate as a rule, on account of the low altitude, and the 
proximity of the sea. The winds from the West prevail in the 
spring and late autumn ; from the N.-W. in the spring ; from the 
E. in winter and summer. The marshy valley of the Somme is 
sometimes flooded, every such overflow being followed by a period 
of intermittent fevers. Average of winter temperature : 3° C. ; 
of summer : 20" ; of extreme temperatures: 25° to — 10°. (In the 
winter of 1916-1917 the temperature went down to — 25°). 

The agricultural productions are chiefly : grain, beet-roots, 
and potatoes. Less important are colza, poppy, hemp, flax, 
apples, vegetables. 

The mineral resources are peat, lignites, pottery clay, chalk, and 
stone for the roads. 

The Somme industries are weaving (of wool, silk, flax, hemp, 
and cotton), sugar, paper, tanning, soap and glue. 

The total population in 1906 was : 532,567 (5 " arrondisse- 
ments " ; 41 "cantons" ; 8^6 " communes "). 

Arrondissements Cantons 

Abbeville. . Abbeville, Ailly-le-Haut-Clocher, Ault, Crecy, 
Gamaches, Hallencourt, Moyenneville, 
Nouvion, Rue, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme. 

Amiens . . . Amiens, Boves, Conty, Corbie, Hornoy, 
Molliens-Vidame, Oisemont, Picquigny, 
Poix, Villers-Bocage. 

DouLLENs. . Acheux, Bernaville, Domart, Doullens. 

MoNTDiDiER. Ailly-sur-Noye, Doullens, Montdidier, Mo- 
reuil, Rosi^res, Roye. 

P^RONNE . . Albert, Bray, Chaulnes, Combles, Ham, 
Nesle, Peronne, Roisel. 

Population of certain places. — Abbeville : 20,700 ; Albert : 
7,000 ; Amiens : 91,000 ; Beauval : 3,000 ; Bray : 1,200 ; Buire- 
sur-l'Ancre : 300 ; Cayeux-sur-Mer : 3,650 ; Corbie : 4,400 ; 
Doullens : 5,400 ; Flixecourt : 3,450 ; Ham : 3,250 ; Crecy-en- 
Ponthieu : 1,527 ; Lucheux : 800 ; Martinsart : 400 ; Montdidier : 
4.450; Naours : 1,150; Peronne: 4,525; Poix: 1,150; Roye: 
4,400 ; Saint-Valery-sur-Somme : 3,650 ; Thiepval : 230 ; Villers- 
Bretonneux : 4,650. 

Among the famous personages born in the Department may be 
named : Fredegunda (d. 507) ; saint Auschaire (801-864), who 
was Archbishop of Bremen, in Germ, and missionary in Scandi- 
navia, b. at Fouilloy; Pierre l'Hermite (b. Amiens, d. in 5), who 

— 251 — 



TAXES AND MONOPOLIES 

preached the First Crusade; Voiture (1598,-1648), see Literature', 
Lamarck (1744-1829), see Science; Mr. Paul Bourget (b. 
Amiens 1852). 

Origin of some place-names. — Amiens has retained the name of 
the Gaulish tribe whom Caesar found in Picardy : the Amhiani. 
It is supposed that to Picardy has been applied the name of 
the dialect of Poix (" patois picard"), one of the great dialects of 
the North. Corbie (the city was founded about 600 A. D., by 
Sainte-Bathilde, a French Queen of Anglo-Saxon blood) is the old 
name of the river, which later was called Ancre ; that name of 
Ancre was the name of the city which is now called Albert. The 
district of Santerre (sana terra), the old city of Therouanne 
(terra avence), the villages of Avesnes, Bouchavesnes, are on good 
land, where oats {" avoine") grow easily: while Barly and Bar- 
LEux, like Berles in Pas-de-Calais, may be so named from a 
Prankish equivalent of barley, or from the old German Wehrlein, 
the original of Berlin (little fort). Talmas is Templum Martis. 
One of the 56 rivers is called " I' Allem-agne " another is " I'Avre " 
(cf. Avon). Numerous are the names in "court. " This ending, 
like the noun " cour " , means a close, an enclosure, and is derived 
from L. cohortem, a word closely allied with hortum, cf. : Gr. 
chortos, E. gard-en, yard. Names ending in " ville " and " villiers " 
are memorials of the Roman chateaux and their farmers. 

The strangest name in the Department is " Trou a Mouches " ; 
it is likely that the B. E. F. have met the place more than once, 
whatever the name might be. 

Books recommended. — Joanne (as for Nord, etc.). — Ardouin-Dumazet (Infor- 
mation). — Demangeon, La Picardie (Colin, 12 fr.). 



TAXES AND MONOPOLIES. — Previous to the Revolution, the 
French peasant used to pay, in taxes of all kinds, about 95 % of his 
poor income. The national capital was then 1/5 (12 billion doll.) 
and the budget 1/3, of what they were in 1913. Out of a popula- 
tion of 650,000, Paris numbered 120,000 paupers. 

The ' ' Constituante " of 1 790 abolished the old taxes, and removed 
even their names ; we no longer speak of " impots " (imposed by 
royal decree), but of " contributions " : the voluntary offerings 
of free citizens. Our present system of taxes is far from perfect : 
it has remained very much what the "Constituante" made it 
130 years ago. 

Our " Contributions " are of two sorts : direct, i. e. nominative ; 
and indirect, i. e. levied on certain goods and transactions. 

I. Direct. — a) " de repartition " (apportionment) ; the defi- 
nite amount accruing from such revenue being fixed for the 
coming year, the total is apportioned between " departements ", 
" arrondissements ", " communes ", and individuals. These are : 
the personal and habitation tax, calculated on the rent; a special 

— 252 -- 



TAXfiS AND MONOPOLIES 

tax on land which has not been built iipon; and the door and 
window tax. 

b) " de quotite ", varying with the circumstances. These are 
the buit land tax, and the trade-licenses (" patentes "). 

II. Indirect. — Levied on receipts, mortgages, bonds and shares, 
the manufacture of stearine and candles, the sale of vinegar, 
railway-tickets, all vehicles, publicans' licenses, alcohol, playing- 
cards, sugar, gun-powder, etc., etc. Custom-duties are partly indi- 
rect taxation, partly protection. 

Our Monopolies are merely extreme forms of indirect taxation. 
All our friends know of, and most of them probably dislike, our 
state-monopoly of tobacco. Its great disadvantage is that it 
practically forces on the smoker the particular varieties of the 
weed that the State chooses to prepare. Its great advantage 
to the smoker is that, wherever he goes, he is sure to find the same . 
grades of tobacco, sold at the same prices. The sale of 
tobacco had been made a monopoly by Colbert in 1674, and 
suppressed in 1791. It was revived in 18 10. 

Napoleon, between two campaigns, was trying to mend our 
finances. One evening, at a ball, a very finely dressed lady, 
covered with diamonds, attracted his notice. " Who is she ? 
he asked, " and what is her husband ? " — " Sire, she is Mrs. So 
and So, and her husband is a tobacco-manufacturer... " Next 
morning, or a little earlier, the sale was a monopoly again, and 
the manufacture became one. 

The State buys its tobacco partly from abroad, partly from 
French farmers. Tobacco is grown mostly in the North. To pre- 
vent fraud, a State-official visits every tobacco-field and estimates 
the coming crop. This can be done very accurately : so many 
rows, so many plants in a row, so many leaves to a hundred plants. 
The French tobacco crop in 1913 was 26,000 tons; we consume 
75.000. 

Tobacco was sold by Colbert at i fr. a lb. and yielded a profit 
of 600.000 fr. It now brings in 500 million francs, and is sold at 
10 fr. a lb. 

There is this to be said for our matches : the people who make 
them are properly paid and properly looked after. Why do we 
still use the sulphur-match ? There is one possible explanation of 
that enigma. — It may be that our large farming population, 
people who live much out of doors, need a (comparatively) cheap 
match that will not easily go out in a wind ; the smell is unimpor- 
tant in the open. 

Matches were first taxed in 1871 ; their manufacture became a 
State-monopoly in 1872. The State now buys a large part of 
its stock from abroad. 

A very awkward form of taxation is the municipal indirect tax 
called " octroi ". At the gates of all cities and towns (except 

— 253 — 



TAXES AND MONOPOLIES 

Lyons, which has at last set the example) the municipality levies 
small taxes on any quantity of wine or beer, to a bottle, on meat 
and fish, timber and stone, fowls and butter, etc... Our municipal 
finances have been, ever since Colbert, under the control of 
the State; therefore the fixation of " octroi " duties by any town 
or borough is subject to the approval of the Finance Secretary 
in Paris. But it seems that this control is not strict enough, as 
rates vary a good deal for no tangible reason, and in many 
cases are merely harmful. To take one instance. — " octroi " 
duties on fish, in most inland cities, vary from 15 to 50 % of 
its value, whilst meat is seldom taxed more than 12 %. Such 
taxation ultimately affects : i. fish consumers, who are fewer 
than they might be, since fish, owing to the tax, remains a luxury ; 
2. the distant fishermen, who have no votes in those inland 
townships ; the tax penalizes their craft. The nation would be 
better fed (See Cooking, consumption of horse-flesh), our fishing 
would develop, and local and national budgets (the State takes 
its share of " octroi " revenues) would lose nothing if the tax was 
levied on the net profits of ship-owners and fish-merchants. 
(See : Victor Cambon, La France au travail.) 

On the whole, our system of taxation is far too indirect : 
instead of gauging and tapping the actual income it is content 
with levying a toll on every expense (rent, purchases, etc.). 
Therefore it encourages the national passion for economy, and 
discourages the creation of industries. 

A direct income-tax, on the English model, has been established 
since this war ; it is as yet on a very moderate scale, but it 
probably will develop steadily, as did its predecessor, the tax on 
legacies, also a direct hit at actual wealth. 

Budgets of certain States from 1892 to 1907 

BUDGETS 1892 1907 INCREASE 

of: (million fr.) (imllionfr.) per cent 

Austria-Hungary 

Belgium 

France , 

Germany 

Great Britain 

Italy 

Japan 

Russia 

United States 



Totals 19.841 35-448 79 % 

— 254 — 



2.300 


3.642 


58 % 


412 


598 


44 % 


3-473 


3-832 


10 % 


4.600 


9.760 


113 % 


2.272 


3-782 


66 % 


I-57I 


1.946 


24 % 


395 


1.540 


290 % 


2.903 


6.645 


129 % 


1-915 


3-683 


92 % 



Taxes and monopolies 

National debts of same States during same period 

DEBTS IN 1892 IN 1907 INCREASE 

of: (million fr.) (million fr.) percent 

Austria-Hungary 13.000 15.900 24 % 

Belgium 2.150 3.610 72 % 

France 30.000 30.000 — 

Germany 13.500 21.000 55 % 

Great Britain 16.500 19.500 18 % 

Italy 12.300 13.000 5 % 

Japan 1-475 4-830 227 % 

Russia 15-500 24.000 54 % 

United States 2.925 3 -790 29 % 

Totals 107.450 135-630 26 % 

French finances DURING THIS WAR. 

From Official Statement Nov. 1917. 
(in million francs). 





RECEIPTS 


E XPENSES 


ESTIMATES 


ACTUAL 


ESTIMATES 


ACTUAL 


1-914 


4.781 


under i . 900 


5. 191 


12.000 


I9I5 


lA total of 81.318 for the 3 years, 

including : j 51.271 Fr. money. 

>68. 380 from loans j 17. 109 for. money. ^ 
and . 

111.938 from taxation. 




22.800 


I9I6 




32.891 


I9I7 




42.123 


I9I8 * 


7.809 


7.808 



Budget no longer- includes temporary receipts or expenses. 



The Bank of France alone has advanced to the French Treasury; 

3.500 million fr. in 1915 
4.700 " 1916 

4755 " 1917 

— 255 — 



Thermal stations 

French loans (in million francs). 
Amounts required 

1 87 1 2.000 

1872 



3 


.000 


I 


.000 




350 




500 




939 
265 
805 


10 


000 





Covered 




2 


1/2 times. 


12 






14 


1/2 ; 




3 






21 






17 






24 






40 




II 


860 mill, fr 


9 


800 " 


10. 


276 " 





1886 

I89I 

I90I 

I9I4 

I9I5 

I9I6 

I9I7 

Loans to our allies, since 1914 : 6 billion francs. 

Books recommended. — F. Combat, Application de I'impoisur le revenu (Ber- 
ger-Levrault, 1917, i fr. 25). — Marion, HzstoiVe fmanciere de la France, ijis-iy8g 
(1915). — Langlois, Essai sur les monopoles d'Etat (1915). 

Ashley (P.), Modern Tariff History. France (J. Murray, 1910). — Stanwell (C.-H ), 
British Consols and French Rentes (King & Son, 1909). 

THERMAL STATIONS. — Thermal springs are among the 
most precious resources of France not only because they are 
extremely numerous, and some of them, like Vichy or Cauterets, 
are exceptionally active, but still more because their extraordi- 
narily varied scale of waters meets every therapeutic requirement : 
German and Austrian spas possess but one uniform type of 
mineral water. 

The most famous are the following : Pyrenees : Amelie-les- 
Bains, Bagneres-de-Luchon, Bagn6res-de-Bigorre, Bareges, Caute- 
rets, Eaux-Bonnes, Eaux-Chaudes, Dax. — Central Plateau : 
Mont-Dore, La Bourboule, Bourbon-l'Archambault, Vichy, Royat, 
Chaudes-Aigues, Vals, Lamalou. — Alps : Aix-les-Bains, Evian. 
— Vosges and Faucilles : Plombieres, Luxeuil, Contrexeville, 
Vittel, Martigny, Bourbonne-les-Bains. — Nord : Saint-Amand- 
les-Eaux. — Normandy : Forges-les-Eaux. 

If we confine ourselves to those of Centre and S.-E. France, 
which are served by one and the same Railway Company (the 
P.-L.-M.), this is how Professor Robin distributes them : 

Stomach affections (dyspepsia, gastritis) : Chatel - Guyon, 
Evian, Montrond, Pougues, Royat, Sail-sous-Couzan, Saint-Alban, 
Saint-Gervais, Thonon. 

Affections of the intestines (enteritis, constipation, etc.): Aix-en- 
Provence, Brides, Chatel-Guyon, Evian, Royat, Saint-Gervais, 
Thonon. 

Liver complaints (lithiasis, cirrhosis, paludism) : Amphion, 
Brides, Chatel-Guyon, Evian, Pougues, Sail-sous-Couzan, Saint- 
Alban, Thonon, Vals, Vichy. 

— 256 — 



TREES AND FLOWERS 

Cardio-vascular complaints : Balaruc, Bourbon-Lancy, Chau- 
desaigues, Royat, Sail-les-Bains, Saint-Gervais. 

_ Skin diseases : Aix-en-Provence, Allevard, Challes, Charbon- 
ni&res, Greoulx, La Bourboule, Les Fumades, Menthon-Saint- 
Bernard, Royat, Sail-les-Bains, Saint-Gervais, Uriage, Vals, Vichy. 

Bone and articular affections, and wounds : Aix-les-Bains, 
Balaruc, Besangon-Mouilliere, Bourbon-Lancy, Bourbon-l'Ar- 
chambault, Greoulx, Guillon-les-Bains, Le Martouret, Lons-le- 
Saulnier, Salins-du-Jura, Salins-Moutiers, Sallieres, Uriage. 

Affections of the respiratory organs (bronchitis, asthma, 
laryngitis, etc.): Aix-les-Bains, Allevard, Challes, La Bourboule, Le 
Mont-Dore, Les Fumades, Menthon-Saint-Bernard, Royat, Saint- 
Gervais, Saint-Honore, Uriage. 

Chloro-anemia : Amphion, Charbonnieres, La Bauche, La Bour- 
boule, Royat, Saint-Didier, Saint-Nectaire. 

Diabetes and Gout : Amphion, Evian, Sail-sous-Couzan, Saint- 
Alban, Thonon, Vals, Vichy. 

Nervous affections : Aix-en-Provence, Bourbon-Lancy, Bour- 
bon-l'Archambault, Neris, Saint-Gervais. 

Women's complaints : Aix-en-Provence, Chaudesaigues, Neris, 
Salins-Moutiers. 

Rhumatism : Aix-les-Bains, Bourbon-Lancy, Bourbon-l'Ar- 
chambault, Neris, Saint-Honore, Vals, Vichy. 

Scrofula and lymphatism : Aix-les-Bains, Besan^on-Mouillieres, 
Bourbon-l'Archambault, La Bourboule, Lons-le-Saulnier, Uriage. 

Book recommended. — Jacquot and Willm, Eaux minerales de la France 
(Beranger). 



TREES AND FLOWERS. — Out of five acres of French soil, 
about one is woodland. (Nearer proportions are the following : 
24.7 million acres out of 132.4 ; or : more exactly still : 9,886,701 
hectares out of 52,951,940.) 

Out of those 25 million acres of forest, the French State owns 
3 ; .the communes and certain pubhc estabhshments — hos- 
pitals, etc. — 5 ; and private persons : 17. 

It is not possible to ascertain the profits accruing to our popu- 
la,tion from forests ; the State-owned forests (" foretsdomaniales ") 
yield over 6 million dollars every year (£ 1,200,000). 

1855 : 36,614,298 francs. 
1875 : 37.648,714 
1895 : 28,918,620 " 
1912 : 33,850,710 

This regularity in their exploitation is due to the appUcation of 
the " Code forestier " estabhshed by Colbert, which forbids wanton 
destruction of timber, and provides for its reconstitution within 

gAILLENS '— 3^7 17 



TREES AND FLOWERS 

carefully measured periods. All State-owned forests, and a good 
many more, are in charge of special officials, " Conservateiirs " and 
." Inspecieurs des Eaux et Forets ", who received their training at 
the "Ecole Nationale des Eaux et Forets " oiNancy. Anotherschool 
at Les Barres (Loiret) trains the lower personnel {"gardes", etc.)- 

At the extreme end of the Bay of Biscay, from Bordeaux to 
the Pyrenees, lies a great plain of 10,000 sq. kilometres, on which 
a fever-sticken population of 10,000 barely lived, among rolling 
dunes and moving sands. It was in the " Landes " that shep- 
herds used to watch their flocks from the vantage-point afforded 
by stilts six foot high. The " Landais " can still use their stilts 
to advantage, but they are now 300,000 healthy, prosperous 
people, and the moving sands have ceased to threaten their 
inland cities. The change was due to three men originally : 
Desbiey (1775), Villers (1778-1781) and their famous successor 
Bremontier. The " Landes " are now covered by a forest of 
pine-trees, live oaks and cork oaks, which yield (beside timber 
and fuel), resin, turpentine, corks, tar, and have increased the 
national capital, within the last 50 years to the amount of 
3 billion francs (600 million doll. ; 120 million pounds). 

Forests are still extensive in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura, Vosges, 
Ardennes, on the upper reaches of the Seine and Loire, and in the 
Parisian region (Forests of Orleans, Compiegne, Fontainebleau). 
The most densely wooded of our Departments is that of Vosges 
with 440,000 acres of forests. (See map, page 84.) 

The five great divisions of the terrestrial flora are : the Arctic 
zone ; the forest zone, the Mediterranean ; the desert ; and the 
tropical. We have trees and flowers belonging to the first three. 
Canadians have been surprised to find on our high mountains some 
plants which they had met only in their country. Our hills and 

Elains possess all the trees found in England. Our South coast 
as the flora of Spain and of Italy. 
Owing to the influence of the Gulf-Stream, our West 
(Nantes, etc.), has palm-trees and magnolias. A consequence of 
the variety of our geology is that certain plants grow far more to 
the North or to the South than would be expected. The forest 
of Fontainebleau (about 50 miles from Paris) is largely Mediter- 
ranean, because it lies on warm dry sandstone, not on chalk, or 
clay, like the villages around it. 

The oak is one of our national trees ; it was held in special 
veneration by the Druids. No other country in the world pos- 
sesses oak forests equal to those of Perche (W.) and Bourbonnais 
(Centre). The old State forest of Trongais, reserved to the 
Crown since Colbert (1670) contains areas planted with oaks as 
smooth and straight as church-pillars, measuring 6 ft. in diame- 
ter, and 80 ft. from the ground to the first branches. The "revo- 
lution " of this and similar forests is 180 years ; no tree is touched 
before it is 180 years old. The timber wa§ worth before the wajt 
about 4 s. per cubic foot. 

- 258 — 



TREES AND FLOWERS 

Four trees call for special notice, because they have been the 
staple resources of some parts of our South for a very long time : 
they are the chestnut-tree, the olive, the mulberry, and the vine. 
Between them, they provide man with food, drink, clothing, 
and of course, lodging. 

There is no need to return to the vine (in 72 Departments out 
of 87); suffice it to say that it slowly displaces the olive, perhaps 
as a consequence of the very gradual decline of temperature (See 
Climate). 

The olive (13 Depart.) and chestnut (62 Depart.) are mentioned 
under A qriculture. As to the mulberry, it is cultivated in 21 Depart- 
ments, all in the South East. Our mulberries produced in 191 3 
1,400 tons of leaves, valued at over 6 million francs. Thanks 
to ■ 90,517 " sericicuUeurs " (silk-growers), they fed silk- 
worms producing 4,400,000 cocoons, which were worth 15,650,000 
francs. Silk is produced in 22 Departments. It was Henry IV, 
and his great minister Sully, who made the mulberry-tree and the 
silk-worm popular, and silks a national industry. Before them, 
we had to buy from Italy or China. 

The father of all French acacias, imported from America in the 
xvith century, is still alive ; it may be seen at the Jardin des 
Plantes (founded 1626) in Paris. 

In the same garden is also the first cedar tree imported into 
France, It was brought from Lebanon by Jussieu (xviiith cen- 
tury). From Australia we imported the eucalyptus, which does 
very well in our South (and in Algeria), and from Japan has come 
the varnish tree (or ailanthus)vfh\ch. grows all too easily on oursoil. 

A favourite tree with us is the poplar. It not only yields 
useful timber in a very short time, but it changes marshy ground 
into grazing-land as well. (See Balzac's "Eugenie Grandet "). 
On Recount of its name (L. populus), it was the symbolical tree 
of the Revolution ; we planted one in every village ; and poplars 
planted by the soldiers of Napoleon were still found in Germany 
only 20 years ago. 

As to flowers, we grow them extensively in the South East, 
especially in the famous district of Grasse, where great distil- 
leries turn their perfumes to commercial use. 

We have two National schools of horticulture, one at Versailles, 
another at Fays-Billot (Haute-Marne). 

The French are known for their geometrical gardens, " jardins 
a la franfaise, " in which the rules of our architecture are observed. 
We do not understand the " rockery ", or the " wilderness ", 
a garden to us being essentially a triumph over nature. The 
English appreciate nature more than we do, as a rule; partly, 
perhaps, because they live further away from it. We can find 
real wildernesses easily, when we want them^. 

Books recommended. — J. Chevali-.r et G. Raffignon, Notice sur la Foret de 
Tronfais (Limoges, 1912), — A. Jacquot, la Foret (Berger-Levrault, 3 fr. 50, with 
bibliog.), 

- 359 — 



VERDUN 

VERDUN. — Is a prosperous city of 22,000 inhabitants ; its 
chief productions are sugar-plums (" dragees "), jams.Uqueurs, ar- 
tistic woodwork, flour, spirits, beer, fancy-trimmings... 

Its main asset however is its strategic position. It faces Metz, 
and is one of the strong cities on the Meuse, like Mezieres, Namur, 
and Li6ge (See 98-99). Verodunum was a stronghold of the JRo- 
mans. The old citadel rises on a steep hill in abend of the river, 
which protects it on all sides, save the West. 




General view of Verdun. 



(Photo Marchal) 



The partition of the Empire of Charlemagne, in 843, by the 
Treaty of Verdun, gave Verdun with Lorraine to the German 
Emperor (See map, page 85). When we captured it from 
Charles V, in 1552, with Metz and Toul, the three cities had 
long been under French influence ; they were independent bisho- 
prics, under Bishop Princes. The " Princerie, " the old palace of 
the former "Pnnces-Eveques, " has been only partly destroyed by 
the German shells. The fine cathedral, dating from the xiith 
century, has suffered far more. In the xviith century, Vauban 
fortified the city, and a new town-hall was built. The statue 
ofChevert (Seepage 249) is still intact. The city was taken in two 
days by the Prussians in 1792; and again taken by them in 1870, 

— 260 — 



Verdtjn 




— 261 — 



VERDUN 

Its present fortifications include part of the works of Vaubari ', 
but they mostly consist of the forts built in 1874 (See page 78) 
The forts of 1874 are over 30 in number and cover a front of 30 
miles; alineof forts connects VerdunwithToulin the south, whileto 
the north extend the neutral frontiers of Luxemburg and Belgium. 

The Kronprinz engaged large forces against Verdun in 1916. 
The attackbegan on the gth of February. His army was so strong, 
he had so many and such large guns, that he felt sure of success, 
and made every preparation for a triumphal entry on March i. 

But the " poilus " had made up their minds that the Prussians 
should not pass. (" ILS nepasseront pas!") Defences and trans- 
port facilities were used to the utmost, and partly improvised. 
For want of proper railways, an endless train of lorries running 
at three minutes' intervals, on roads kept in repair day and 
night by whole regiments, poured into Verdun men, food, and 
munitions. The " Boches " used gas, liquid fire, pushed their 
attacks, in wave after wave, charging over the bodies of their 
dead, and combined the brutality of the " 42 cm. " with the 
cunning of the hidden machine-guns ; but the Kronprinz had to 
retire with no better results than the taking of some outlying 
forts, and the destruction of some buildings. In October, we 
re-took Douaumont and Vaux. By December, the "Boches" 
had been driven back to their original position. In those 
300 days, they had lost 700,000 men. 

On September 14, 1916, the heroic city received from President 
Poincare the following decorations : The Russian Cross of Saint- 
George, the British Military Cross, the Italian Medal for Military 
Valour, the Belgian Cross of Leopold, the Serbian and Montene- 
grin Medals, the Legion of Honour, and the French Military 
Medal. The Emperor of Japan sent a Sword of Honour. 

Vaux was taken after a siege of several months and attacks of 
incredible violence, in June 1916. The Germans had used gas, 
fire, heavy shells, and besieged the fort so closely that the only 
issue by which it could receive supplies and report to H. Q. was 
a steep path under constant shell-fire. Every day, some men 
offered themselves for the perilous journey ; out of five, only two 
would return. At last, even that issue was cut off, and the garri- 
son was soon without food or water. They fought seven days 
more, and surrendered. They were 400. The Germans were 
100,000. Four months later, Vaux was retaken in a few hours. 

The names of Generals Petain, Nivelle, Mangin, are associated 
with the defence of Verdun ; that of Commandant Raynal, with 
the defence of Vaux. 

Books recommended. — G. Jollivet, VEpopee de Verdun (Hachette, 3 fr. 50.) 
— H. Bordeaux, Les Derniers jours du Fort de Vaux (Plon). — M. Genevoix, Sous 
Verdun (Hachette, 3 fr. 50). 

Genevoix, Neath Verdun (with a preface by Lavisse), Trans : by H.-G. Richards 
(London 1916). — Campbell (G.-S.), Verdun to the Vosges (E. Arnold, London, 
1916). — Burke (K,), The white Road to Verdun (Hodder & Stou^hton, 1916). 

— 262 — 



VERSAILLES 

VERSAILLES. — The wonders of antiquity were only seven, 
The modern world could boast of the Panama Canal, the Cathedral 
of Chartres, the London Houses of Parliament, the Victoria Falls, 
the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Taj Mahal at Agra, the Seine in 
Paris, the Indian Civil Service, and a few other marvels ; the 
Palace of Versailles would certainly figure on such a list, and not 
very far down either. 

Versailles is due to the inspiration of one man, in whom 
a whole extraordinary dynasty, a system, and a nation, had breath 
and motion. Louis XIV did not care for the Louvre ; Paris was 
too dirty, narrow, and unruly; — nor for the palace of Saint-Ger- 
main : it had been the home of too many kings before him. He 
therefore chose a sandy solitary plateau, cut up by marshes, and 
covered with woods where his father had often hunted ; and 
around the simple pavilion of brick and stone, built by Louis XIII, 
he erected a residence worthy of the " roi-soleil " . The best artists 
of his day, long years of patient toil, money in profusion, were 
employed on this glorification of a man and a nation. Hundreds 
of rooms accommodated a population of courtiers and their 
servants ; two large wings housed the State Ministers and all 
their offices ; the stables held 2,500 horses. A vast garden, 
filled with noble statues and marble basins, extended its geo- 
metrical alleys and lines of symmetrical trees to a park, around 
which spread the forest. The heart of this city was the King's 
apartment, which could be reached only through three railings 
of gilt iron ; but even in this stronghold the Great King could 
have no peace. A town soon grew around the palace (it has now 
55,000 inhabitants) ; the throng of the courtiers was ever at 
his heels ; hundreds of petitioners drove to Versailles furiously 
("a cercueil decouvert", " in open coffins ", as they said) just to 
see the King one second... 

So Louis the Great soon felt the need of a more private resi- 
dence, and bought the hamlet of Trianon, where he built a 
smaller palace (Louis XV was to build the Little Trianon). Even 
there, however, he could not have sufficient solitude. 

From a village on the Seine, Marly, a special machine, run 
by the river, sent up water to Versailles, 5 miles away. (The 
machine is still running to-day, and provides with water not 
only Versailles, but Saint-Cloud, and Saint-Germain.) In an- 
other village of the same name, a cluster of poor houses lost in the 
woods, 6 miles from Versailles, Louis had a third retreat built for 
him, the chateau of Marly-le-Roy, with its twelve pavilions ; 
nothing of it remains to-day but the two horses by Coustou now 
erected at the lower end of the Champs-Elysees. 

Those three palaces and that township were the centre of 
France, and, for a time, the centre of Europe. Versailles was 
imitated by several European monarchs, including the king of 
Prussia even Siam possesses a replica of the wonderful place. 

— 263 — 




The Palace and Park of Versailles. 

Showing the severe majesty of Versailles, and the taste of the " grand sUcle " 

for abstract, geometrical perfection. 



Victor hugo 

place. It was a sort of permanent exhibition of French art, 
which even our enemies could not but admire. 

The hunting-box of Louis XIII, still visible to-day in the very 
centre of the enormous building, had been put up in 1624. Levau 
began to build for Louis XIV in 1661 ; Mansart, in 1676 ; the 
Palace received Louis in 1682. Louis XV, intended to rebuild 
Versailles entirely in the style of his time ; he could only complete 
the " Gabriel wing " in 1772. Napoleon resumed the task, but 
could only undertake a pavilion that was not terminated before 1820. 

The treaty concluding the American War of Independence 
was signed at Versailles ; in 1788, the Assembly of Notables, 
followed by the " Etats Generaux ", met there also. The Conven- 
tion sold all the furniture for the needs of the nation ; only 
part of it found its way back, in less troubled days. The Prus- 
sians looted the place in 181 5. In 1870, they made it their head- 
quarters, and there Bismarck crowned his King Emperor of Germany. 

It is now the most complete monument of a characteristic 
period of our past, and a unique museum of decorative art. Part 
of it is reserved for our Parliament (See page 198) 

Books recommended. — a. Perate, Versailles (4 fr.) — P. de Nolhac, Les 
Jardins de Versailles. — ■ Sec also : Catalogue of L. Bernard, rue Hoche, Versailles. 

Farmer, Versailles and the Court under Louis XIV (New York, 1905). — Bradlej 
(G.-F.), The Great Days of Versailles (Smith Elder, 1906). 

VICTOR HUGO. — Born at Besangon, 1802 ; died in Paris, 
1885. The greatest word-artist in our literature, and our highest 
epic and lyrical genius. 

His father was one of the generals of Napoleon ; at the age of 9, 
the boy joined the General in Spain : Spain, and 
the Napoleonic pageant, lived in his imagination 
ever after. Though he always was a liberal, and 
became a democrat. Napoleon remained his 
favourite hero. In this, as in all things, he was 
true to the instinct of his race. France admired 
Napoleon for his greatness to the point of 
pardoning him his tyranny ; yet she did not like 
tyranny. Hugo had to rue for this apparent 
contradiction, when Prince Napoleon, embolden- 
ed by the popularity of his uncle, to which 

Hugo had largely contributed, found himself victor Hugo 
opposed by a Republican party, of which Hugo in 1870. 

was a leader. . . (Photo by Carjat.) 

For the poet was a politician as well. He regarded 
men of genius as the spokesmen of God, and poets as the guides and 
High-Priests of mankind. At the ageof 20, under Louis XVIII, he 
was a loyal liberal royalist, and a Catholic,with a personal admiration 
for Napoleon. Under Louis-Philippe, who made him Senator 
and Peer of the Realm, a very liberal royalist, with an enthusiasm 

— 265 -- 




Victor hugo 

for Napoleon. In 1848, he was a Republican : Napoleon III 
banished him. For 18 years he lived abroad, mostly in Guernsey, 
returning to France only after the fall of the Empire. The war 
was not half-finished yet; the Parisians gave him a royal recep- 
tion ; he went with them through the siege, and wore a uniform 
like the rest. He was 68. His production, which had begun 
53 years before, went on practically unabated to the last. His 
popularity was greater than that of any man since Napoleon. 
Men who could not read knew that he had been their champion 
His evolution had been continuous ; he had begun life as a 
royalist and a Catholic ; he ended it as a socialist and an agnostic. 

At his express desire, he was borne to his grave on a pauper's 
hearse ; but his funeral was the most splendid and impressive 
ever seen in France since the return of the ashes of Napoleon. 

He is most admired abroad as a prose-writer, (" Notre-Dame", 
" Les Miserables" , The Toilers of the Sea) because verse, especially 
his, suffers so much in translation. But to us he is a poet first of all, 
and perhaps nothing else than the typical poet. The writers of 
his time, whom he had led to the attack of the sham-classica 
school, and above whom he towered, did not even dream of dis- 
cussing him, and simply called him " le Pere ". A younger 
poet, however, Leconte de Lisle, cruelly said of him : " As stupid 
as the Himalaya. " But even that epigram did not deny Hugo's 
greatness. He was the first of our poets who understood the 
sea. Whatever was great appealed to him, and the simplicity of 
the sublime is often found in his work, as fresh and grand as in 
Homer, despite an unfortunate tendency to mere cleverness and 
bombast. We think he is at his best in the " Legende des Siecles " 
(epic), and the "Contemplations" (lyrical). His passages of real 
poetry, like all great poetry (and like the Himalaya), do not; speak 
to the mind by the utterance of distinct thought, but by pictures 
and echoes that fill and rouse the imagination... 

He had uncommon physical vigour, though short of stature. 
He could draw remarkably well, and cabinet-making was his 
hobby. He had all the economy of a Frenchman, and was a 
shrewd man of business. Maupassant once said of him : " When 
the French language disappears, Hugo's writings may be forgott- 
en ; but it will be remembered that he was one too many for his 
publishers. " For three years, despite his hard-working habits, 
he was unable to write, owing to the death by drowning of his 
favourite daughter and her husband shortly after their marriage. 
He was ah excellent father and grandfather (See " I' Art d'etre 
Grand-Pere "). His family is not extinct. The well-known tra- 
veller Dr. Charcot married his grand-daughter; a grandson 
and a great-grandson served with distinction in the present war. 

Books recommended. — Edmond Eire, Victor Hugo (5 vol., Paris, 1869-1893). 
— Ch.- Renouvier, Victor Hugo (Paris, 1889-1893). — Also : Brunetiere, Evolution 
de la poesie lyrique, and Faguet's XIX" si^cle. 

Swinburne (A.-C), A study of Victor Hugo (1886). 
— 266 — 



■War-frencH 

WAR-FRENCH. — It were difficult to say whether Mr. Atkins of 
" Jacques Bonhomme "( the French peasant), is the worse hnguist ; 
yet there is Uttle doubt that the two have come to an understand- 
ing, through the joint creation of a French "patois " consisting of 
a few nouns, a few verbs in the infinitive, a little specially manufact- 
ured slang..., and a good deal of Enghsh. , Here follow some spe- 
cimens : 

(A farm-house somewhere in France ; enter a member of the 
B..E. F. He opens the door sharply.) 

B, E. F. — " Ouf! " (This is an exclamation which in proper 
French expresses relief ; but the farmer understands " eggs 
("ceufs"), and immediately returns :) 

Farmer. — " Ow much ? " 

B. E. F. — " Dooce. " (This can mean but " deux ", number 
twelve, " douze " , being never expressed except by signs.) 

Farmer (having complied, and stating his price) : — " Cinq 
pinces " (literally : five pincers). But B. E. F. has soon found the 
small greasy note expected. 

The following was actually heard by a Town-Major. Two sol- 
diers were coming to a farm, in quest of milk. " Can't talk 
French ? " said one to his companion ; "all right .• I'll fix him up ! " 
{Him of course being the Farmer.) — To the Farmer: " Monsoo! 
Compris milk ? ' 

Farmer. — "Yes ". 

Soldier. — " Wellthenolechaplet's'av'tup'nyworth !..." 

Farmer " Non compris that. " 

Soldier. — " Compris two! ?... pence! ? " 

Farmer. — " Yes. " 

The exchange of milk for coin was duly made ; then the linguist 
turned to his mate in modest triumph with : " Why ! there you 
are ! " 

" Compris ", " compris that ", " non compris " are indispensable 
to the pursuit of prolonged conversation, e. g. : 

Batman. — " Madame! Capitaine wants his washing... Compris 
washing? Non com/?ns washing!... Look here ! (taking up some 
article of linen, then another)... This is washing! Compris 
that?... This washing... washing again... washing... washing... 

Madame. — " Compris that ! linge, linge... " 

Batman. — "Bong! Call it what you like. Capitaine wants 
his washing to-morrow... Non compris to-morrow ? " etc., etc. 

An obliging Australian noticed that the cow of some good 
woman had slipped her rope and was straying away. He ran to 
the house at once to inform the lady of the fact, never thinking 
that the words might fail him. They did not. " Madame, " he 
said, — " Lait ! " — " Promenade ! " She caught his meaning 
at once, nor did her smile as she thanked him betray anything 
but sincere gratitude. 

— 267 — 



WAR-FRENCH 

Well-known favourites are : bong, no bong (also : bonn, no 
bonn), finish! zig-zag (drunk), tootsweet, picanninny, fiancey, 
" promenade " , " apres la guerre " . They convey more than one 
would suppose, when properly used. The growing precision 
and fervour of the following " declaration de guerre cannot 
be missed : 

" Alio ! Mademazelle ! Bonn, tres bonn Mademazelle. Vous 
fiancey moi ?... Apr^s la guerre ? No bonn apres la guerre. 
Tootsweet tres bonn. Promenade cet soir fiancey ?... Oh no ! 
vous promenade sergeant no bonn ! Vous promenade moi trds 
bonn !... " 

Napoo has had a remarkable fortune. It is a corrupt abbre- 
viation of a corrupt abbreviation ; it comes from " n'y en a p'us ", 
which means "il n'y en a plus" (there is no more of it). Perhaps 
because it always had an unpleasant sound in the ears of the hun- 
gry or thirsty man whose hopes it shattered, humour, that mental 
product of courage, has played on it marvellously, e. g. : "I 
proposed to her, but she gave me the napoo ". "My dear chap, 
I am simply napooed. " " 1 went round all the napoos, but they 
hadn't got none. " " So long, and if we don't meet again, well 
napoo." 

Snaffer conveys more pleasant associations. It comes from 
the polite answer of the farmer or his wife when Mr. Atkins has 
apologized for some trifling inconvenience. They said to him : 
" fa ne fait rien " (it is no matter)' which he heard as "sanferien". 

Every language has its literature. This lingo has the song : 
"Apres la guerre finie, Tous les Anglais partis," etc., which 
will be remembered by most members of the B. E. F. however 
insignificant it may be. It would be all the more difficult to 
name the author of the words, or even state his nationality, as 
there seem to be more than one version of the song. As to the 
tune, it is that of a sad music-hall rigmarole which was in vogue 
when the war began : " Sous les ponts de Paris. " 

These remarks on what might be called ' ' Tommy-French ' ' do 
not exhaust the subject ; the " poilu " has his own War-French. 
Any account of this " Poilu- French " must begin with : — 

' ' Poilu ' ' : the word is now more than famous ; it is immortal, the 
nickname of the men in pale blue being now as inseparable from 
the history of the Great War as that of the " grognards " from the 
history of Napoleon. Yet its first meaning is little known 
abroad. We hope that its popular, not to say trivial origin, will 
shock nobody's feelings. 

First, it should be remembered that we preserve in French the 
distinction made by the Romans between capillos (" cheveux "), 
hair growing on the head, and pilos (" poils "), hair growing on the 
face or body of man, or on animals. Therefore " poilu ", in ortho- 
dox French, simply means " hairy " {pilosus) ; it is as regularly 
formed as " chevelu " (capillosus), " barbu " (bearded), " fourchu ' 

— 268 — 



WAR-FRENCH 

(forked), " fourbu " (foundered), etc. In the second place, popular 
belief associates hairy arms and chest with ; a) vigour ; 
b) manliness ; c) courage. 

The word existed before the war with that meaning, as one of 
those thousand images, ever changing and little known, of Parisian 
slang. From Paris, it had passed to the barracks. The war made 
it popular throughout the army ; it pleased the men, as humour- 
ously, grotesquely indicative of their own valour. From the 
army it spread to the papers, polite conversation, and literature... 

It should be noted that this association of " hair " and " man- 
liness " (probably as old as the world, cf. Esau and Samson), was 
already part of our military history. Every child in France 
knows how brave Colonel Chevert (a native of Verdun), stormed 
Prague in the days of Louis XV. One night, Chevert called the 
sergeants of his regiment, and said to them : " My friends, I know 
that you are all brave men ; but I must have a " brave " with a 
triple coat of hair ! . . . You are the man I want, ' ' he said to one ser- 
geant. " Comrade, you'll scale the wall first; I follow you. (Yes, 
Colonel.) As you go up, a sentry will shout : "Who goes there ? " 
Don't answer him. (Yes, Colonel.) He will call out a second time ; 
don't answer ; then a third ; just go on, don't speak a word. Then 
he will fire at you, and miss you. (Yes, Colonel.) Then you fire 
at him, and shoot him. I'll be there. " (Yes, Colonel.) The " brave 
a trois polls " did as he was told. Thus did Prague fall to us 
in 1741. 

" Boche " comes from Parisian slang " Alboche " (" Allemand "), 
which had been formed like " fantoche" (puppet), "moche'' 
(ugly), "caboche" (head), " rigolboche" (i-anny), etc., the ending 
" oche " being pejorative. For short, the first syllable was 
dropped, and the last quaint syllable then spread rapidly. 

" Cagna " , " guitoune ", " gourbi ", mean either a small tent or 
a dug-out. The word "creche" (crib) applies to a dormitory, 
in barracks or elsewhere. 

" Marmite " (cooking-pot) is the name of the heavy shells from 
over the Rhine. A verb has been derived from it : " marmiter", 
also the abstract noun : " marmifage ". 

"Pinard" is wine. This word again was part of Parisian 
slang before the war) ; it was derived from the name of a famous 
variety of wine, " vin pinot ". In the same manner " aramon " 
was formerly used, because of a district called "Aramon", 
where vineyards are numerous, and the wine fairly good " for the 
price ". In French as in slang, " ard " is a pejorative ending. 

" Toto " is the name given to a small child, a pet diminutive. 
The " poilus " apply it to the insect-pest inseparable from trench- 
life, and from woollen underwear... 

"The heavy valise which " follows " a man everywhere, even in a 
charge, although it often weighs over forty pounds, the men call 
"Azor", a favourite name for dogs with us. The rifle is 
'Mdlle, Lebel ", or more commonly " le flingot ", or " le flingue "; 

— 269 — 



WATERWAYS 

the former name is that of the inventor, the latter a corruption 
of German Flinte. The bayonet goes by the mock-poetic 
name of "Rosalie". Bully beef is simply " /e singe" (monkey); 
ordinary meat is " barbaque" (a tough sound), or "bidoche" 
{' "bidet" = nag). The machine-gun is a " motilin a cafe " (coffee- 
mill), or a " machine a coudve " (sewing-machine). 

Of course, these are only samples of the " Poilu" idiom; the 
men have at least one word of their own for almost every object 
and act of their profession. 

Books recommended. — Dictionnaire des iennes militaires ei de I'argot foilu 
(Larousse). — Sainean, L'argot desiranchees (Fontemoing, 2 fr.). 



WATERWAYS. — Most of our rivers are navigable, over long 
distances, the two notable exceptions being the capricious 
Garonne, and the upper half of the Loire; but in these two 
cases, lateral canals have improved on nature. 
The most important of our navigable rivers are : 

North : the Escaut (Scheldt), Somme. Seine, Oise, Marne. 
East : the Meuse, Moselle, Saone. 
Centre : the Cher, Maine, and tributaries of latter. 
West : the Charente. 

The whole length of our navigable streams is 8,500 Km. (5,300 
miles). 

Our canals are not sufficient in number, and were not built at 
the same period ; neither are they all connected with the general 
water-system. The depth of the older canals is only i m. 20 
(4 feet) ; that of the newer ones being 2 metres (6 feet i /a), with 
locks 126 feet by 27. 

The barges are, as a rule, towed along by horses or mules, and 
the goods are loaded and unloaded, the sluices worked, etc., by 
hand only, when electricity should do it all. 

In a country where water is abundant, it is a pity that the rail- 
ways should, as a rule, have fought the canals so successfully, 
instead of expecting from their just development the direct benefit 
of the public and the indirect benefit of the railways. The great 
industrial region of the North shows that railways lose nothing 
by the progress of canals; their profits per mile in that district 
are by far the highest, while the Northern canals and rivers are 
extensively used, and run on modern lines. 

The total length of our canals is 5,000 Km. (3,125 miles). 

As things are now, it is possible for a barge or light boat to per- 
form the following journey : from Brest, across Brittany, to 
Nantes; then up the Loire, to the Seine, through Paris, up the 
Oise, into Belgium; or up the Marne, then across Chmpagne, 
to the Rhine, and down the Rhine into Germany ; or again from 
the Marne to the Saone. Down the Saone to Lyons; then, down 

^- 270 — 



WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID . . . 

the Rhone, to Marseilles; from Marseilles to Bordeaux, via 
Ceite and Toulouse. 

Our canals are all State property and the use of most of them 
is free of charge. 

The Bordeaux-Cette canal, connecting the Atlantic and the 
Mediterranean, was the life-work of an engineer in the xviith cen- 
tury, RiQUET,who received little encouragement from the Govern- 
ment, and spent is fortune on is work. If this canal wass made 
capable of admitting sea faring ships, the world's commerce would 
gain immensely thereby. 

Water traffic : between Lyons and Marseilles. 400.000 tons. 

On the Seine . 5.000.000 " 

Total for France, in 1880 . . 1.500.000.000 fr. 
in 1914 . . 6.000.000.000 ". 

(Cf. Water traffic on the Rhine alone : 22.000.000 tons.) 

Books recommended. — Statist ique de la Navigation inter ieure, issued by the 
"Ministcre des J ravaux Publics" (Beranger). — Canals and irrigation in foreign countries, 
Consuls' reports 'Washington, 1901). — J. Barbier, Le Canal des Deux-Mers (Ber- 
ger-Levrault, i fr.), 

WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID OF US. 

Cato the elder. — "Fond of soldiering and of eloquence 
(rem militarem and argute loqui) (2nd century B. C). 

Horace. — " Non paventis funera Galliae" (Gaul, unafraid 
of death.) 

Strabo. — "It seems as though a guardian Providence had 
raised those mountains, drawn together those seas, traced and 
guided the courses of so many rivers, so as to make that country 
one day the most flourishing place on this earth. " 

Mediaeval literature. — "La douce France." (Sweet, 
pleasant France.) 

Charles V of Spain. — " Speak Spanish to God, Italian to 
your sweetheart, English to your birds, German to your horses, 
and French to your friends. " 
Shakespeare : 

And France, whose armour conscience buckled on, 
Whom zeal and charity brought to the field. 
As God's own soldier... 

[King John, speaking of King Philip.) 

Grotius. — " The most beautiful kingdom after the Kingdom 
of Heaven. " 

Sir William Temple. — " That noble and fertile kingdom, 
more favoured by Nature than any other in the world. " 

Benjamin Franklin. — " Every man has two mother- 
countries : his own, and then France. 

— 271 ^ 



WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID . . . 

Heine — " The patriotism of the Frenchman consists in this: 
his heart warms up, and becomes wider, he takes to his heart not 
only his immediate friends, but the whole of France, all civiliza- 
tion ; whereas the patriotism of the German makes his heart 
shrink, like leather in a frost, he ceases to be a citizen of the world, 
a European, and becomes merely a narrow German. " 
Elizabeth Browning : 

The English have a scornful insular way 
Of calling the French light... 
This noble France, this poet of the nations.., 
G. Meredith : 

An orb of nations, radiating food 
For body and for mind alway... 
... The Shape in glad array ; 
The nervous hands, the front of steel. 
The clarion tongue... 
Nietzsche. — " There is no other culture beside the French. " 
Vandervelde. — " Much as I love and admire the great 
nations around us... yet I am entitled to say that from the point 
of view of intellect, for the last thirty years especially, i. e. since 
she has been tried by war, France has given more great men to 
mankind than any other country. And when some happen to 
blacken the French character, I merely say to myself that the 
Beotians, when they spoke of Athens, used to boast : " We are 
stronger, we are more moral, we know not the vices and 
weaknesses of civilization. " But twenty-five centuries have gone 
by, and the Beotians are no longer remembered but for their dull 
brains. Twenty-five centuries have passed, and Athens is still 
shining over the whole human race. And France also remains 
a great nation, a great race. " (igoi.) 
RuDYARD Kipling : 
First to face the Truth and last to leave old truths behind, 
France beloved of every soul that loves and serves its Kind! 

(I9I3-) 
" Every aspect and detail of life in France seems overlaid with 
a smooth patme of long-continued war ; — everything except the 
spirit of the people, and that is as fresh and glorious ds the sight 
of their own land in sunshine " ( 1 9 1 5 . ) 

Edison. — "France is the flag nation of the world " (1917). 

The English and the French compared by an American. — 

"The two nations present a continual contrast and seem to value 
themselves upon being unlike each other ; yet each have their 
peculiar merits, which should entitle them to each other's 
esteem. The French intellect is quick and active. It flashes 
its way into a subject with the rapidity of lightning, seizes 
upon remote concliisiong with a sudden bound; and its deductions 

=- 373 — 



WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID . . . 

are almost intuitive. The English intellect is less rapid, but 
more persevering ; less sudden, but more sure in its deductions. 
The French... speak and act more from immediate impressions 
than from reflection and meditation ; they are therefore more 
fond of society, and of public resorts and amusement. An 
Englishman is more reflective in his habits. He lives in the 
world of his own thoughts, and seems more self-existent and self- 
dependent... 

" The French are great optimists ; they seize upon every good 
that flies, and revel in passing pleasures. The Englishman is too 
apt to neglect the present good in preparing against the possible 
evil... 

" The Frenchman has a wonderful facility at turning small 
things to advantage. No one can be gay and luxurious on smaller 
means ; no one requires less expense to be happy. He practises a 
kind of gilding in his style of living, and hammers out every 
guinea into gold-leaf. The Englishman, on the contrary, is 
expensive in his habits, and expensive in his enjoyments... What- 
ever display he makes, the depth is sure to equal the surface. 

" The Frenchman's habitation, like himself, is open, cheerful, 
busthng, and noisy... All is clatter and chatter. He is talkative 
and good-humoured with his servants, sociable with his neigh- 
bours, and complaisant with all the world... He lives in part of a 
great hotel, with wide portal, paved court, a spacious dirty stair- 
case, and a family on every floor. The EngHshman, on the con- 
trary, ensconces himself in a snug brick mansion, which he has 
all to himself ; locks the front door ; puts broken bottles along his 
walls, and spring-guns and man-traps in his gardens ; exults in his 
quiet and privacy, and seems disposed to keep out noise, daylight 
and company... shrouds himself with trees and window-curtains... 
Yet, whoever gains admittance is apt to find a warm heart and a 
warm fireside within. 

" The French excel in wit, the English in humour ; the French 
have gayer fancy, the English richer imagination. The former 
are full of sensibility, easily moved, and prone to sudden and great 
excitement, but their excitement is not durable. The English are 
more phlegmatic, not so readily affected, but capable of being 
aroused to great enthusiasm... The vivacity of the French is apt 
to sparkle up and be frothy, the gravity of the English, to settle 
down and grow muddy. When the two characters can be fixed 
in a medium, the French kept from effervescence and the English 
from stagnation, both will be found excellent. " 

Washington Irving (1783-1859). 



273 — 18 



WILD ANIMALS 

WILD ANIMALS. — The following piece of information appear- 
ed in the "Petit Parisien " of January 22nd, 1917^: 

" Wolves in Burgundy. — Dijon, 21 Jan. — The ground about here 
bein"' now under several centimetres of snow, wolves are begin- 
nino-'\o visit our villages at night, there to find the pittance which 
they fail to get in the woods. The foot-marks of one of them 
have been traced about the yards of several houses of Nuits-Saint- 
Georges, in the street leading to the railway-station. 

" Until battues have been made, in order to rid us of those dan- 
gerous visitors, farmers are going to keep a close watch over thei 
stables. " 

As agriculture progresses, wolves tend to disappear ; but we 
have too many mountains and forests, especially on our frontiers, 
for the total disappearance of wolves to be possible before long. A 
certain number of sportsmen and of&cials are " Officiers de Louve- 
terie " ; their task is to arrange for beats and hunts now and then, 
mostly for the destruction of wolves; hence the name of those 
officials: "wolf" = "loup", "she-wolf" = " louve" . 

There are bears in the Pyrenees ; their flesh is much appreciated 
by gourmets. Boars are numerous in the East. " Chamois " live 
in our Alps; and "izards", very similar to the "chamois", 
but smaller, and dark, haunt the Pyrenees. 

We have of course badgers, weasels, ferrets, otters, hares, and 
rabbits: deer and partridges, quails and even beavers. Eagles 
are still to be found in the Alps ; many other birds of prey prosper 
in our mountains. Ravens have become so sca,rce that the ubi- 
quitous rooks, choughs, and crows, are often mistaken for them, 
people having lost the possibility of comparing, and the raven 
surviving in their minds owing to his old reputation. 

The right to shoot or hunt in the forests owned by the State 
is granted to private persons for periods of 6 or 9 years, against 
payment. Those special hcenses bring in £ 72,000 a year to the 
Treasury. 

Land being so equally divided in France, most Frenchmen 
shoot. Certain means of destruction are illegal; greyhounds 
and falcons are forbidden at all times ; the season is off in sprmg 
and summer, and we must have a gun hcense, costing a few francs. 
These are the only conditions. Needless to say, every village 
has its poacher. The general result is a fairly high standard of 
marksmanship among our soldiers. 

But our etiquette of sport is not so strict as that of the British : 
we share the aristocratic privilege, and have dropped the aristo- 
cratic distinctions : to our peasants a fox is no fetish, but merely 
the arch-enemy of poultry, and they shoot it at sight without a,ny 
compunction. Punch pubhshed some years ago this amusing 
skit which well displays the innocent ruthlessness of some of our 
sportsmen : "Don't fire at that pheasant," says the English 

— 374 — ■ 



WOMEN 

"host to his French guest, " don't you see it is running ? " — " AH 
right, " says the guest. " I vait till he stop. " 

Books recommended. — H. Coupin, Animaux de nos pays, 660 illustr. (Colin, 
6 fr.). — Gastine-Renette, La Chasse d, tir (Larousse, 2 fr.). — De Moriencourt, 
La Chasse (Nilsson, o fr. 4(). 

WINES. — See Drinks. 

WOMEN. — The quahties of the Frenchwoman, her part in the 
life of the nation, and her legal status, may all be summed up or 
explained by three great facts : 

The first is the remarkable approximation of the sexes in 
France ; in no other part of Europe are men and women so nearly 
ahke. To the Englishman, the Frenchman will sometimes 
appear almost womanly; he "wears his hair too long", is too 
refined or too sentimental, too "polite", too sensitive. The 
Frenchwoman, on the other hand, will often appear to him to 
know too much, to be too actively employed, to have an almost 
inordinate capacity for business ; and in some cases her voice 
or action will seem to him too virile to be pleasant. His impres- 
sions do not quite mislead him : several books have been written 
about our soldier-women ; the first of modern emporiums, the 
"Bon Marche ", was founded by a French woman, Madame Bou- 
cicaut ; there is hardly a profession that our women have not 
followed with success, long before feminism was dreamt of; whilst 
our men still provide the world with its best cooks, perfumers, 
hair-dressers, and dress-makers. 

Another fact accounting for woman's position in France is the 
regard for women which is a natural consequence of their effi- 
ciency in our case, and of Northern traditions in general. Our 
women have not only very much the same gifts of intelligence 
and courage as our men, but they are allowed to display them 
to the full. The influence of our women over all our activities, 
in literature, business, art, daily life, has alwa^^s been very great, 
and very seldom combated. It is often the case with us, that 
the wife, having more leisure, or doing less exhausting work, is 
the accountant, cashier, manager, and scholar, of the house- 
hold. A shrewd and friendly observer, Mr. Barrett Wendell, 
has been amused to see how submissively one cobbler in a French 
village, to whom he had brought some boots for repair, began 
his work when his wife told him to, and had to work for nothing, 
because Madame had decided that Mr. Barrett Wendell, coming 
from America, and being a friend of her cousin in New York (so 
he chose to say at the time), was not to pay a centime. The 
dutiful husband was quite content not to have any responsi- 
bilities at home ; politics were his domain and compensation... 

The third factor is the influence of the South on our legislation. 
Napoleon was a Mediterranean : his reliance on woman was of the 
slightest. Most of our laws were framed under southerq 



WOMEN 

influences ; we are mainly ruled by Roman Law^and the Roman 
Church. Hence the paradoxical situation of woman among us, 
from the legal point of view. A wife can neither sue in law, give, 
alienate or mortgage, buy or sell, without due consent of her 
husband. The husband alone may administer the property of the 
family. Only since 1907 can the wife dispose as she pleases 
of her personal earnings or savings. If she opens a business 
under her name, she must obtain consent from her husband. 

And of course she is excluded from the vote. She has more 
than a right to work, and is expected to pay her taxes, but has 
no say in the voting of those taxes, or in labour legislation. 
When established in business, however, she elects the special judges 
of the Commercial Courts. 

The Frenchwoman is no feminist as yet. She has little faith 
in the political systems devised by mere men, and thinks' she 
wields far more power in her informal way than she could ever 
exert if she was an elector. This war, however, by forcing so 
many women to leave their home occupations, and take their 
chances in the modern world of labour, has slightly accelerated the 
tendency of working women to group together and obtain more 
equitable salaries, calculated not upon their sex, but upon their 
actual output and requirements. 

What Frenchwomen have accomplished during this war can 
never be stated fully (See : The Living Present, by G. Atherton, 
New York; and M! Benoit, " L'energie fetninine pendant la 
guerre " , Nilsson). Perhaps the most remarkable example of 
courage and intelligence was given by Mme Macherez, a lady 
of 60, who remained in Soissons when the Germans entered it, 
in 191 5, and the municipal authorities had fled from the town, 
as well as most of the citizens. She became the "Mayoress" of the 
group left behind, and showed such tact and firmness that 
Soissons was saved from fire and destruction. When Soissons 
was French again, and the citizens returned, Mme Macherez 
resumed her ambulance work. 

Mme FiQUEMONT, school-teacher at T. on the firing-line, acted 
as Mayoress for several months (in 1914). 

Mile Sellier was the devoted assistant of Mme Macherez. 

Sisters Ignace (Alsace), Julie (Gerbeviller), Gabrielle 
(Argonne), Henriette (Longwy), were awarded the Legion of 
Honour, for exemplary courage and devotion during the war, etc. 

The 3 great societies constituting the French Red-Cross num- 
bered, by July 1915, 35,000 Nurses, and 40,000 women auxiliaries, 
working in over 1,500 hospitals. It is not, however, in actual war- 
work that Frenchwomen have mostly distinguished themselves, 
but in the maintenance of the economic conditions. 

"One of the most striking things to anyone who comes 
nowadays to France from America or England is the absence of 
women in uniform that are to be seen everywhere in the two 
latter countries. Except for nurses in the picturesque French 

' — 276 — 



WORKMEN 

costume, there is nothing comparable to the khaki or blue-clad 
figures one meets at home. Yet it must not be thought for a 
moment that the Frenchwoman is not taking her part in the 
war like her English and American sisters. On the contrary she 
is taking a greater part and has done so from the outset, but 
she has done it so much as a matter of course that she never 
saw the necessity for emphasizing it in any way. Alone of the 
three nations France, all France, men, women and children, 
realized from the beginning, from the first day of mobilization 
what war meant, and from that very day she flung her whole 
weight into the struggle. Already women in France — for all 
the " Feminist " movement was practically inexistent — played 
a very large part in the national life. In every village store, in 
every cafe or barber shop it was Madame la Patronne who had 
charge of the accounts and kept the money. To her women 
especially, France owes her national habit of thriftiness. In the 
fields women of France have always worked. In the close-knit 
life of the French family it was the old mother who did the 
cooking while the wife and daughter helped the men at their 
labour. So when the war came there was no real change. The 
women of France worked harder that was all. And that 
seemed to them so natural as to require no additional 
emphasis. " (Franco-American Weekly). 

Books recommended — Mdme F.-F. Goyau, La Femme au foyer et dans la cite 
(Perrin). — Sainte-Beuve, Portraits de femmes. 

Loliee, Women of the Second Empire (J. Lane, 1907). — Hutchiu, Labour Laws 
for Women in France. 

WORKMEN. — It is not easy to speak of our workmen with 
any amount of accuracy without going into elaborate detail, 
or confining oneself to broad remarks. For obvious reasons, 
we have to adopt the latter course. 

The first observation, >vhich is one proof of the difficulty of 
the subject, is the variety of conditions ; some men earn i fr. 50 
a day by working in the fields ; others as much as 25 in skilled 
special occupations ; some are their own masters, or have worked 
for the same employer ever since childhood, and are practically 
members of his family ; others "get a job" when andwhere they can, 
either because they have learned no particular craft, or be- 
cause their branch of industry is liable to periodic crises... As 
a rule, dissatisfaction is greater where capital is more modern, 
i. e. less responsible ; and, other things being equal, in parts of 
France where they think more willingly than they work. (V. 
Cambon, La France au travail.) 

We have 71,000 fishermen; 8 million labourers in field or 
forest; trade employs i i /a million people; the liberal profes- 
sions number 340,000 members ; State and other officials are 
690,000 ; mines and quarries are worked by 227,000 hands ; 

— 277 — 



■WORKMEN 

712,000 are engaged on transport ; and industries proper employ 
5,400,000 workers. The negative forms of socialism have temp- 
tations only for portions of the last three of those categories, 
an aggregate of 6,300,000 individuals, (33 % are girls and women, 
and II % are boys not over 18), out of a total 18,500,000 wage- 
earners, and a total population of 97 millions, including our Colonies. 

Alcohol and improvidence are the two curses of our workman ; 
manual skill (which really has its origin in intelligence), and a 
passion for justice (as a rule in the form of equality), are his 
great virtues. 

Other nations may think that we are temperate, because a 
drunken man is such a rare sight among us, and because drink 
is no part of our -feradition. But the French system is to take 
" something" every hour or so, with the consequence that a 
man will suddenly commit some crime, and be removed to an 
asylum, although he may have been drunk but a very few times 
in his life. How a good clean workman goes down that road 
of drink, in France, has been admirably told by Zola in his " As- 
sommoir " . 

The improvidence of the French workman is also in contradic- 
tion with what is known of French thrift ; yet it is undoubted. 
In many cases the workman was a peasant who left his village 
precisely because he desired to enjoy the good things of the town ; 
his wish is to earn and spend ; but more often still, he is descend- 
ed from generations of workmen, and the belief is ingrained 
in him that it is no use saving ; that being born a workman, like 
his fathers before him, he cannot escape remaining one; that the 
man who owns, land or capital (peasant or bourgeois) can never 
be caught up by the man who has " nothing but his two arms 
to work with, " as we say. Another and quite different reason is 
that when the workman does save, he soon ceases as a rule to be 
a workman. It should be noted that both intemperance and 
improvidence are so far almost exclusively male attributes ; even 
the working woman is fairly free from both, still more so the 
workman's housewife. 

His skill is evidenced by the success of our decorative arts, 
which ultimately owe quite as much to the artisan as to the ar- 
tist. Our scientists and inventors have often been surprised to 
see how quickly and adequately the French workman, the Pari- 
sian workman in particular, understood their intentions, and 
worked out unaided the details of some apparatus, of which they 
had merely given the broad outlines. It was not sentiment or 
chance which induced a Santos-Dumont to have his flying- 
machines built in France ; well he knew that for a perfectly new 
engine, he had better see the French workman. The develop- 
ment of the motor-car in France is due partly to our roads and 
our situation, but far more to the skill of our mechanics ; Mr. B. 
Shaw also knew what he was doing when he chose to make his 
■' Superman " French. 

— 278 — 



WORLD-WAR AND FRANCE 

As to his passion for equality and justice, it is the one that 
allows some of his leaders to do him so much harm. Certain 
words hft him above himself, make him capable of crime or the 
most sublime sacrifice. But for that magic power of abstract 
terms over him, he would long ago have improved his situation, 
instead of cutting his own throat. 

Because he was sometimes dissatisfied before the war, and 
thought that he had a policy, some people believed that he might 
refuse his services to his country, in the name of the " Interna- 
tionale, " and of anti-militarism, anti-clericalism, anti-capitalism, 
anti-patriotism, and other negations. But the moral position 
of France was so clearly unassailable, that even that incorrup- 
tible judge, who would burn down his own house on principle, 
never hesitated. He saw that Germany meant murder, that he 
could not get a clear statement from the German socialists, that 
he must let his views bide their time, and think of nothing but 
instant action. He might have cursed the callousness of the old 
country in peace-time, but he was not going to trust any "Boche " 
to improve on the methods of the Mother of Revolutions. He 
reaUzed in time that the Germans were the only ones in Europe 
who had never shed their own people's blood for the sake of 
a principle. They were always ready to fight others, for more 
food, but had never fought amongst themselves for more free- 

And no man in France answered the call more readily, did 
his duty with more skill or passion, than the working man. 

It is probable that, after the war, the French world of labour 
will leave to Germany the negative theories of Marx, and return 
to forms of socialism born in France, such as the " Associa- 
tionisme" of Ch. Fourier. Strikes have been tried (60 % had for 
their object a rise in salaries) but their number was decreasing 
before the war, while Trades' Unions were powerful, and growing 
in power. The general trend was toward co-ordination. Much 
remains to achieve in that direction : we have hardly any Mas- 
ters' Unions yet, and our co-operative organizations are still in 
a state of infancy. 

Books recommended. — E. Levasseur, Questions ouvrieres et industrielles en 
France sous la 3" Repiiblique. 

See also : Peasants, Industries. 



WORLD-WAR AND FRANCE. — So vast a conflict as the pre- 
sent one cannot be ascribed to any one cause exclusively ; it con- 
sists indeed of a number of wars, waged it is true simultaneously 
upon the same group of nations, but by allies whose motives and 
aims are not exactly the same. 

The motives and aims of France in this war are as simple as 
imperative ; we are fighting for our existence. 

— 279 — 



WORLD-WAR AND FRANCE 

This is how Celarius, a Roman general, warned the Gauls against 
the German peril, over 1,500 years ago : " The self-same motives 
for invading Gaul will ever endure among the Germans : love of 
pleasure and love of money. Ever will they be seen to relinquish 
their heaths and bogs and rush to your fertile plains, with a view 
to rob you of your fields and make slaves of you... " German 
school-boys to-day are taught that the six sons of the Germen 
are entitled to the land of the French farmer's only son... 

Then it is the boast of the German that he is an undefiled 
Barbarian (Prussia was not evangelized before the xiiith century), 
whose mission it is to rejuvenate " effete civilizations " by 
periodical blood-letting. It is our claim on the other hand that 
our civilization is as old and complex as any in the modern 
world : we are therefore to the German the prey " par excel- 
lence. " And we happen to be his immediate neighbours ! 

Our history is therefore that of a ceaseless conflict between our 
intelligence and German brutality, our desire to enjoy and perfect 
what we have, and German envy, jealousy, or hunger ; a conflict 
between people who plant and build, and people who plunder and 
burn down. 

To take only the latest phase of that struggle, the phase of 
which this war is the conclusion, this is how it could be summed 

up : 

In 1 871, Germany might have been content to become a nation, 
and to annex three of our Departments ; other conquerors might 
have asked no more. But jealousy and barbaric greed went fur- 
ther : she exacted a ransom of 5,000 million francs (a very large 
amount at the time), in gold! Germany'shope was to ruinus for 
ever. She was much aggrieved when she saw how easily we manag- 
ed to pay up, and how by 1875 we had so far recovered as still 
to have a future before us. Bismarck wanted to strike again, 
and finish us for good ; but this time England and Russia stayed 
his hand. He submitted, seeing that we were peaceful after all, 
and merely bent on acquiring colonies ; he thought that colonial 
enterprise could only weaken our arms in Europe, and set England 
against us ; he himself would have no colonies for Germany. This 
acquiescence to our plans in 1879 (Madrid Conference) and in 
1885 (Berlin Conference) did not prevent him however from threat- 
ening us again in 1887. The German bully likes to remind us 
periodically that he is very strong, and that we live only on suffer- 
ance. At last Bismarck went, and Germany became modern. 
For several years her young Emperor seemed to think of nothing 
but peace, industry, trade, and sea-power. He repeatedly tried 
to make friends with us : the new course adopted by Germany 
made her the opponent, not of France, but of England. We could 
not meet his wishes : Alsace-Lorraine stood in the way; and 
then we only could have been a pawn in the German game, which 
would have meant subjection to Germany in another form. Our 
estrangements from England over Egypt, the Boer war, Fachoda, 

— 280 — 



WORLD-WAR AND FRANCE 

gave hopes to William at moments, but he was soon undeceived, 
thanks to King Edward and Delcasse, and returned to the Gallo- 
phobia of Bismarck. 

By that time, his empire had become thoroughly commercial, 
and had awakened to the necessity of colonies for European 
nations — rather late, since the colonial world was practically all 
divided between England and ourselves ; but, as we refused to ally 
with Germany against England, our colonies would compensate 
Germany for her long neglect. Our long-established influence in 
North Africa (dating from Louis XIII) had spread at last to 
Morocco, and we had made arrangements with England about the 
matter, in 1904, without consulting Germany. The following 
year, the Kaiser called in great pomp on the Sultan of Morocco 
(Tangiers, 1905), to show that Germany had to be reckoned 
with ; at the same time, the German press led violent campaigns 
against us ; so that, in 1906, Germany managed to be represented 
at the Conference of Algeciras. From that time, we had no free 
hand in Morocco; our own people there had to let the Germans 
take precedence, and when we tried to assert our undoubted rights, 
either we had " incidents " (Casablanca, 1907-1908), or Germany 
simply sent a man-of-war (Agadir, 1911). Our enemies made 
full preparations against a war, while their hand was certainly 
at work in disorders which might be fatal to us (vinegrowers' riots 
in S. France, 1907 ; antimilitarist propaganda, same year ; post- 
men's strike, 1909 ; railways' strike, 1910 ; vinegrowers' riots 
in Champagne, 191 1). The Agadir incident was a revelation to 
us ; the same year, things came to a worse pass, when Germany 
exacted a portion of our Congo, explored and colonized by our- 
selves ! The Caillaux cabinet fell ; Poincare was elected Presi- 
dent ; it had become clear that we must either expect gradual 
impudent robbery, or face war. 

Germany was not unwilling to fight, thinking that she ran no 
great risks ; yet she did not care to assume openly the moral 
responsibility. Her attitude had been exactly the same in 1870, 
when Bismarck altered a French dispatch so as to make it mean 
war instead of peace. This time, as soon as she felt quite ready 
(after her new preparations of 1912), she tried to make us lose 
our patience by : allowing a Zeppelin to wander over our terri- 
tory, and alight on it ; sending officers in mufti to insult civilians 
publicly at Nancy ; starting a campaign of calumny against 
the Foreign Legion (all this in 191 3) ; lastly, by bullying Alsace 
so brutally, that even the Germans in Alsace protested 
(1914). 

We refused to fall into those ignoble traps, and went on with 
our own preparations ; all too slowly, for we still hoped for peace 
against all hope : Russia was to. have built ceictain strategic 
railways by 1916 ; these might have insured peace. Germany was 
at a loss what to do : she would not have peace, would not declare 
war, and could neither wait much longer, nor manage to have us 

— 281 — 



WORLD-WAR AND FRANCE 

declare war... At last, the golden opportunity arrived, and she 
embraced it eagerly. 

In 1 91 4, an Austrian prince was murdered in Bosnia by a Ser- 
bian student ; — there are strong reasons to believe that the 
hand of the German police was in that crime. — A week later, a 
special Conference was held on the subject... in Berlin ! And there 
the elaborate scheme was laid, which has now ended in universal 
warfare : Austria was to make the whole Serbian nation respon- 
sible for that individual crime committed on Austrian territory, 
and declare war upon her, or annex her. Russia, the natural pro- 
tector of Slav nations, would have to step in ; if Russia, then 
France ; poor innocent Germany, of course, would be bound to 
help her Austrian sister, and... invade France "before any declara- 
tion of war... 

When England asked for explanations, Germany stated that she 
did not mean to annex any portion of French territory, but just 
our colonies, and quietly offered England her share of the spoils ! 
(Of course, she omitted to say that the crime of the Serbian 
student had removed the strongest opponent of German influence 
over Austria ; that the assimilation of Austria meant an all-Ger- 
man route from Hamburg to the East ; and that she regarded the 
North and East of France as Germanic territories, to be " reco- 
vered " as soon as possible.) 

Such is our view of the war, our part in it, our stake. All we 
desire is to vindicate our right to live and work, and reap the 
fruits of our labour. We have no wish to annex one inch of Ger- 
man soil, or even to destroy German trade ; we should be only too 
happy if Germany could live and let live. 

But we desire no less than what is our own ; and we regard 
as our own not only our colonies, but Alsace. — Alsace still more 
than our colonies, for she is part of the home of our race. (See : 
Alsace-Lorraine.) 

To the conscience we have of the perfect justice of our cause 
must be attributed the energy we have displayed in this war. 
What we have achieved in spite of our smaller population, our 
less complete preparedness, the loss of our mines and part of 
our population and railways from the very first, can only be 
explained by the fact that never did the people, the great masses, 
cast a look behind ; they knew that their hands were clean, and so 
their hands were strong. 

This is what Captain Andre Tardieu, our envoy to the United 
States, reported after three years' war : 

" France has very close to three million men in the active zone 
to-day. This is more than she has had at any other time. Her 
men coming of age and her colonial resources in man power will 
enable her to keep up the prgsent number but probably not to 
increase it. There are no reserves that will not be used. 

" In artillery and munitions the French situation is good. Of 
the 739 kilometers of line on the Western front the French hold 

— 282 — 



WORLiD-WAR AND FRANCE 



French output of liirar tnaterialat various 
— period/ since xnobilization — 




July i^^6 





guns 



*7uy i^ts 



X-caneh r^/6 








— 283 — 



WORLD-WAR AND FRANCE 

574 kilometers, the British 138 kilometers, and the Belgians 
27 kilometers. 

"This," says an American paper, " is the record of a country 
of only 39 million people after the third year of war, a country 
which, besides its own effort, has reorganized and rearmed the 
Serbian, Belgian, and Greek armies and is now helping us make 
good our deficiencies in artillery and other equipment. " 

We had, in 1914, 25.500 metal-factories, occupying 534.000 
hands ; we had 41.500 in 1917, with 1,417.000 workers. 

French harbours handled 42 million tons in 1912 ; in 1917, 
57 million tons. 

See also pages 150, 216, 245, 255 ; and Index. 

Books recommended. — E. Hovelaque, Les Causes profondes de la guerre (Alcan) 
(Engl. Iranslai. publ. by Grant Allen). — M. Legendre, La Guerre prochaine el 
la mission de la France (Riviere, 1913, 3 fr. 52). — E. Gosse, Inter arma. — 
H. Bergson, La Force qui s'use et la Force qui ne s'use pas (Bloud, o fr. 60). — 
J. Bainville, Histoire de deux peuples (Nouvelle Librairie Nationa'.e, 3 fr. 50). — 
E. Boutroux, I'Allemagne et la guerre (Berger-Levrault, o tr. 40). — P. Verrier, 
La Haine allemande contre les Franfais (Berger-Levrault, o fr. 40). — P. Giraud, 
Causes connues et ignorees de la guerre (Berger-Levrault, o fr. 40). — Lieutenant- 
colonel d'Andie, Les Forces morales (Berger-Levrault, r fr.). 



— 284 



APPENDIX 



A BRIEF CALENDAR OF THE WAR 



June 1914. — 28. Austrian Archduke murdered at Serajevo 
Bosnia (Austrian territory), by Serbian student. 

July. — 6. Special conference held in ... Berlin (denounced in 
Germ. Pari., by Deputy Haase, 19th July 1917; no denial from 
Germ. Gov.). After conf., Kaiser leaves for cruise round 
Noi^way, but keeps in constant touch with Vienna by tele- 
graph, from July 10 to 22. — 23. Austr. makes whole 
Serb, nation responsible for murder, and demands full com- 
pliance with most humiliating ultimatum, within 36 hours. 
(See next page.) Russia, advised by Fr. and Engl., recommends 
to S. strict compliance; Austr. ambassador in S. leaves Bel- 
grade same night, thereby making any discussion impossible. 
Germany and Austria insist on France and Russia leaving 
Serbia severely alone. King George and Russia ask Germ, 
to help them find the way to an understanding; Germ, returns 
evasive answers. — 28. Austria declares war upon Serbia. — 
29. Belgrade shelled by Austrians. Russia mobilizes at 
once, on Austr. frontier only, assuring Germ, that this 
mobilization is not aimed in any way at Germ. Czar suggests 
arbitration by Hague tribunal. Kaiser sends no reply; he 
had already signed that very day the order for mobilization. 
(Czar's telegram suppressed in Germ, diplomatic records.) 
Germ, ambassador in Petrograd asks Russia to remove her 
troops from Austr. frontier within 12 hours. R. refuses to 
let Austr. crush Serbia. — 30. At the instigation of Germ. 
Foreign Office, the Berlin newspapers state that Germany 
mobilizes. Russ. ambassador in Berlin wires at once to 
Petrograd; Russia orders full mobilization at once. Germ. 
Government denies the statement two hours after its publi- 

— 285 — 



APPENDIX 

cation. — 31. Germany mobilizes, under pretext that 
Russia has done so. We know that war is inevitable. Jaures 
is murdered. 

August. — I. France orders mobilization for next day. 
Germany violates Luxemburg. Looting, shooting of civilians. 
Belgium mobilizes. Germany declares war on Russia. Italy 
notifies she will remain neutral, as neither Germany nor Austria 
has been attacked. — 2. Germans invade French territory, 
looting, and shooting civilians. All our active troops have 
been moved back where necessary, so that none of them 
should be less than 10 kil. (6 1/2 miles) from Gerraan frontier; 
we want to show that we do not desire war, and to avoid 
incidents. England asks Germany whether Belgian neutrality 
will be respected; no reply; British fleet is mobilized. Ger- 
many sends ultimatum to Belgium, asking for right of passage. 
— 3. German ambassador in Paris notifies war. The 
Germans troops have already raided our territory at 29 different 
points and Luneville has been bombed by German aeroplanes. 
Belgium indignantly refuses right of passage. — 4. Belgium 
violated ; civilians shot. French villages burnt down. Algerian 
ports shelled by German men-of-war. Belgium appeals to 
England and France. England mobilizes her army, and 
declares war upon Germany. Thanks to heroic resist, of 
Liege, Maubeuge can be organized, so as to hold against 
60,000 Germans and super-heavy artillery through critical 
fortnight : Aug. 25-Sept 8. 

Memoranda. (= To Be Remembered!) 

I. The Austrian Note to Serbia (July 23, 1914) .• Serbia must 
agree, before July 25th, 6 p. m. to the following terms : 

a) the publication, on the first page of the Official Gazette of 
Serbia to be issued on July 25th, of a statement denouncing 
the propaganda against Austria, expressing regret that Serbian 
officers and officials should have taken part in it, etc. ; 

b) the dissolution of a Serbian patriotic a,ssociation, the 
Narodna Obradna, and the confiscation of the means of propa- 
ganda of that and other similar societies; 

c) rigorous measures to be taken against officers and officials 
above mentioned; 

d) (!) the acceptation of the co-operation, within Serbia, of 
Austrian officials, towards the suppression of the anti-Austrian 
propaganda ; 

e) the opening of a judicial enquiry against the authors of 
the plot leading to the death of the Archduke on June 28th; 
in this enquiry Austrian officials will co-operate (!). 

Serbia agreed to every clause, except (e), which was anti- 
constitutional and illegal, and renewed her offer to place the 
>vhole matter before the Hague Tribunal. 

-^ 286 ^ 



APPENDIX 

2. Austria's reply on July 28th : 

" The Royal Government of Serbia not having answered in a 
satisfactory manner... the Imperial and Royal Government 
finds itself in the necessity of safeguarding its own rights and 
interests, and to have recourse to the force of arms... " 

3. From the German ambassador's memorandum to President 
Poincare (August 3.) 

" Mr. President, the German administrative and military autho- 
rities have ascertained a certain number of clearly hostile acts 
committed on German territory by French military airmen. 
Several of the latter have evidently violated the neutrality of 
Belgium by flying over the territory of that country; one has 
attempted to destroy buildings at Wesel..., another has thrown 
bombs near the railway at Karlsruhe and Nurnberg. (All this 
has been abundantly disproved, and is now admitted to be 
false even by official Germany.) I am charged therefore, and 
have the honour, to inform your Excellency, that in presence 
of these aggressions, the German Empire regards itself as being 
in a state of war with France, through the act of the latter 
Power. " 

4. Germany' s shameful proposal, and brutal threat, to Belgium 
(Aug. 2, igi4) : 

a) Germany intends no act of hostility against Belgium. If 
B. consents, in the war about to begin, to take an attitude of 

' friendly neutrality toward G., the German Government promi- 
ses, on its. part, to maintain the Kingdom and its dominions 
to their full extent, when the war ceases ; 

b) Under the aforesaid condition, G. promises to evacuate B. 
territory as soon as peace is concluded; 

c) If B. maintains a friendly attitude, G. is willing to pay 
cash for whatever her troops may require, and to compensate 
any damages caused in B ; 

d) If B. should behave in a hostile manner against the G. 
troops, and, in particular, should hinder their advance by 
opposing to them the fortifications on the Meuse, or by 
destroying any roads, railways, tunnels, or other works of art, 
G. will be obliged to regard B. as an enemy. 

" In that case, G. will not assume any engagements as 
regards the Kingdom, but will leave the settlement of the relations 
of the two States toward each other to the decision of arms... " ! 

To this incredible message, Belgium replied next day, Aug. 3 : 

5. " ... The note has been a matter of deep and painful as- 
tonishment to the King's Government... The intentions imputed 
to France are in contradiction to the formal declarations made 
to us on Aug. I in the name of the Gov. of the Republic. 
Besides, if, contrary to our expectation, any violation of the B. 
territory came to be committed by Fr., Belg. would fulfil all 



APPENDIX 

her international duties, and her army would oppose the 
invader with the utmost energy... B. has always been faithful 
to her international obligations... No strategical interest can 
justify the violation of right. The B. Government, if it accepted 



XQl^ 



BELGIUM 



Aug. — 4. Vise des- 
troyed ; Liege be- 
sieged. — 8. Germ, 
march on Brussels. 

— 17. Liege talcen. 

— 18. Fr. V. atDi- 
nant. — 20. Germ, 
enter Antwerp. — 
20-23. Mons, Char- 
leroi. — 24. Retreat 
begins. 



Sept. — 14. Belg. V 
Malines. 



Oct. — 9. Antwerp 
forts all taken. — 
12. Belg. Gov. at Ha- 
vre. — 17. Battle 

of Yser(Fr.) begins 
6,000 Fr. marines 
hold 7 days. — 24. 
Relief arrives. ■ — 

2i.BattleofYpres 

(Br.) begins. 



Nov. — 10. Germ, 
take Dixmude. • — 
16. Germ, give up 
Ypres. 



Dec. — Trench -war- 
fare . Positions main ■ 
tained. 



NORTH FRANCE 



. Germ, raids be- 
gin. — 25-26. Cam- 
brai and Cateau. — 
28-29. About Me- 
zieres. — 29-30, Fr. 
V. at Guise. 



EAST FRANCE 



. Fr. take Altkirch 

— 8. Fr. takeMul- 
house. — 9. Mul- 
house lost. — 20, 
Mulhouse re-taken 

— 30. Mulhouse 
lost again. 



5-12 September : MARNE 



. G. take Soissons. — 

Battle of Picardy 

( Roye , Peronne , 
Albert, etc.) and 

Battle of CalaiSjor 

Flanders (Lens,La 

Bassee, etc.) great 
strategic moves re- 
inforce the line from 
the sea to Arras. 



12. Nancy saved, — 
20. Rheims cath 
on fire. — Battle 

of the Aisne 

(Craonne, Souain 
Berry-au-Bac, Pa- 
roches, etc.) — G. 
take St-Mihiel, and 
threaten Verdun 



6. Arras shelled. — 
Daily Germ, attacks 
driven back. 



Trench - warfare . — 
Positions maintain- 
ed. — 20, Given- 
chy (Br.). 



Fr. progr. about 
Verdun, St-Mihiel, 
Nancy, LuneviUe, 
Belfort, etc. 



Slight progress in Al- 
sace. — Trench- 
warfare. 



RUSSIA 



1 7 . Russians enter 
East Prussia. — 
20. R. v. at Gum- 
binnen. — 27-29. 
R. defeated at 
Tannenberg. 



. R. take Lemberg 
— 23 . R. take la- 
roslaw. 



Russians victo- 
torious at Augus- 
tovo. — 20. R. 
beat Hindenburg 
and resume siege 
of Przemysl. 



9. R- take Soldau 
(E. Pr.). — 25.R. 
take Czernowitz. 



Heavy German los- 
ses, in Poland. — 
Trench- warfare. 



— 2«« — 



Appendix 

those proposals, would sacrifice the honour of the nation, and 
betray at the same time its duties to Europe... The Gov. of 
Belgium is firmly resolved to repel by all the means within its 
power any attempt upon her right. " 



1 Ol^ 



BALKANS 



Aug. — 15-21. Serbs 
vict. on Tser, Ja- 
dar, and at Cha- 
batz. 



Sept.— 5. Serbs 
Adar (4,500 pris.). 
— 8. Serbs V. Rat- 
cha. — 13. Serbs V. 
Koulihovo. — 21. 
Serbs beat 200,000 
Austr. in Bosnia 



Oct. — 3-9. Serbs 
and Monten. invade 
Bosnia. — Driven 
back. 



Nov. — Serbs, ex- 
hausted, lose Vale- 
vo, Delpar, etc. 



AFRICA 



Dec.— 2. Austr. take 15. Br. shell Dar-es 

R^l(TrQ/1o m o_i 



Belgrade 

Serbs re-conquer 

all their territory. 

Roudnik (30,000 

prisoners) . 



. Lome (G. Togo- 
land) occupied by 
Br. — 20. G. attack 
Belg . Congo . — 
20. G. S.-W. Afr. 
occupied.-Togoland 
occupied. 



ASIA & PACIFIC 



16. Japan's ultim. to 
G. — 25 . Jap. shells 
Tsing Tao. — 
2 8. Japanese 
besiege Kiao- 
Tcheou. 



NAVAL 



17. Fr. sink Austr. 
battle-ships off 
Antivari. — 27. 
Br. sink Kaiser 
Wilhelm der Grosse 
off Rio de Oro. 



Franco-Br. enter 
G. Cameroon. — 
2 ' . Fr. re-occupy 
former Fr. Congo, 
ceded in 1911. 



-27. Maritz rebellion 
in Br. S. Afr. — 
28. Dewet rebellion 
begins. 



18. Botha enters 
S-W. Germ. Africa. 
— 23. Dewet rout- 
ed. — 25. G. re- 
pulsed on Niger. 



16. N. Zeal, force 
occupies Samoa. — 
Austral, occupy N. 
Guinea. 



o. Jap. occupy Ca- 
roline Isl. — 31. 
Austral, occ. Bis- 
marck Islands. 



4. Fall of Tsmg-Tao. 
— 7. Fallof Kiao- 
Tcheou. — 17. Jap. 
sink 8 Germ, men- 
of-war at Tsing - 
Tao. — 21. Br. oc- 
cupy Bassorah. 



22. G. subm. sinks 3 
Br. cruisers in N. 
Sea (Aboukir, Ho- 
gue et Cressy). 



i5. Fr. m. - of - w. 
defeats Austr. fleet 
in Adriatic. — 17. 
H. M. S. Undaun- 
ted sinks 4 G. des- 
troyers. — 28. G. 
men-of-war shell 
Tahiti. 



. Fr.-Br. shell Dar- 
danelles. — 8. Br. 
annex Cyprus. — 
5. Br. sink G. 
cruiser York. 



Sal am. 



II. Jap. masters of 
Kiao-Tcheou rail- 
way. 



— 289 — 



. Falkland Islands : 
Br. sink 4 Germ, 
men-of-war. 



10 



APPEND I5C 



lOlS 



BELG. & N. FR. EAST FRANCE 



Jan. — 8-14. G at- 
tack Soissons. — 
i7.Br.v.LaBassee. 



Feb.— I . Br. V. Cuin- 
chy. — 14. G. shell 
Ypres, Arras, Sois- 
sons. 



Mar. — 10-12. Br. 

take Neuve - Cha - 
pelle . Fr . prog . 
about Arras. 

April. — Ypres and 
Passchfindaele . — 
23. G. use gas. 



May. — 8. Begins 
2nd ofiensive ol 
Artois. 



June. — rg. Ends 2nd 
offensive. 



Ju ly . — 9 . Attacks on 
Arras, Souchez,etc. 



Aug. — Fr. progr. in 
Artois. — 25. 7 
shells on Compie- 
gne. 



Sept. — 25-27. 3rd 

offensive in Artois 
(Souchez, Vimy, La 
Bassee). 



Oct.— 6. Ends 4th 
offensive (25,000 
prisoners). — 9. Br. 
" check G. at Loos. 



Nov. — Br. success 
Givenchy. 



Dec. 



Fr. prog, in Alsace. 



16. Fr. offensive in 
Champagne. — 24. 
1,500 shells on 
Rheims. 



-6. Fr. pr. in Ar- 
gonne and Vosges. 
— 18.. Champ, offen- 
sive ends. 



9. Les Eparges ta- 
ken (G. lose 30,000 
men). — 30. 500 
shells on Rheims. 



Fr. take Le Bois-le- 
Pretre. 



23. Fr. take Met- 
zeral (Alsace). 



G. prOg. in Argonne, 
— Fr.pr.inAl.-Lor. 



Heavy G. attacks 
repulsed. — Fr. 
prog, in Vosges. 



25. Fr. offensive 
in Champagne 
(Massiges, Tahure) . 



3. End of Champ, 
offensive (25,000 
G. prisoners ) . — 
7. Fr. progr. in 
Champagne. 



Fr. take Hartmanns- 
willerkopf (Alsace) . 



ITALY 



23. Italy comes in. 
Invades Trentino. 



13. It. cross Isonzo. 



Italians capture 6,000 
Austr. in 7 days. 



Austr. att. repulsed 



. Italian success on 
Isonzo. 



BALKANS 



8. Austr. shell Bel- 
grade. 



:g'. Montenegrins 
take Scutari. 



Austr. att. repulsed by 
Serbs and Monten 



. Fr. land at Salo- 
nika. — 8. Serbs 
evac. Belgrade. — 
9 . Mackensen cr 
Danube. — 13. 
Bulg. att. Serbs. — 
30. Austr. take 
Gora (Monten.). 



4-13. Fr. v. on Cerna 
— 8. Austr. inv. 
Montenegro. 



4 . Bulg.takeMonastir 
— Serbs crushed. 



— 290 — 



APPENDIX 



-- -- 








lOlS 


RUSSIA 


EAST 


AFRICA 


NAV. & AV. 


Jan.— Progr.in Cau- 
casus, Bukovina 
and Carpathians. 






H. M. S. Formi- 
dable sunk. — 
24.BattleinN.Sea. 


Feb. — R- driven back 
in E. Prussia; v. in 
Carpathians. ,Lose 
Bukovina. 


Turks driven back 
from Suez canal 
(El Kantara). 




8. Fr.-Br. shell 
Dardanelles. — 
Calais, Metz, Col- 
chester bombed. 


Mar. — 22. R. take 
Przemysl {120,000 
prisoners). 


I. Allies land at 
KoumkaIeh(Dard.) 


G. retreat in Belg. 
and Fr. Congo. 


1 9 and 22. Zeppsover 
Paris. 


April. — R. V. at 

. Bartfeld and in 
Carpathians. 


25-28. Allies land 
in Gallipoli. — Br. 
beat Turks near 
Bassorah. 




Libau shelled. — 
Zepp . bombs 
Nancy. — Belg. 
bomb Bruges. 


May. — 2. Begins 
Mackensen's oiien- 
sive. 


Allies progr .in Gallip . 


Botha master of 
G. S. W. Afr. 


8. Lusitania (1,300 
d.), 3 Br.m.-o.-w. 

sunk. 


June. — 4. R. lose 
Przemysl. — 22. R. 
lose Lemberg 


Br. take Amara. 




R. active in Bl. Sea. 
— Warneford dest. 
Zepp. 


July. — R. vict. at 
Krasnik. — R.' 
vict. on Vistula. 


Br. v. on Euphrates. 
— ■ Fr . take 6 Unes in 
Gallipoli. 


Allies progr. in Ca- 
meroon. 


Triest shelled. — G. 
fail to take Riga. 


Aug.- 6. G. take War- 
saw. — 18. G. take 
Kovno. — 26. G. 
take Brest-Litowsk. 


Br. land Suvla Bay. 




Arabic sunk. — 3. 
Zepp. raids on 
England. 


Sept. — 7. Czar at 
Russian G.H.Q.— 
18. G. take Vilna. 


27. Br. v. atKut-el- 
Amara. 


Belgian Congolese in 
Rhodesia. 


4. Hesperian sunk. 


Oct. — German at- 
tacks repulsed. 




Belg. V. near Lake 
Tanganayka. 


43 U-boats destr. 
since Aug. 1914. — ■ 
24 Zepp. raids 
over Engl, since 
Dec. 25 19T4. 


Nov. — Riga safe. 


21-26. Ctesiphon won 
and lost. 




Br. hospital-ship 
sunk in Channel. 


Dee. — R. off. in 
Galicia ; A u s t r . 
driven back. 


20. Br. leave Suvla 
Bay. 




Russ. shell Varna. 



— 291 



APPENDIX 





loie 


1 


BELG. &N. FR. 


EAST FRANCE 


ITALY 


BALKANS 


Jan. — G. attack on 
Yser mouth : 20,000 
shells on 35th. 






Serbs evac. Aluania 
Mont en. crushed. 


Feb.— G. take Frise. 


21. VERDUN 

begins. 


It. capture Collo 
Mountains. 


It. leave Durazzo. 


Mar. — Br. take over 
Arras sector. 


VERDUN . 






April. 


VERDUN. 

(lull by end of month ) 


It. blow up Collo d 
Lana. 


Julg.-Germ. enter 
Greece. 


May. 


VERDUN. 




Rupel fort surrenders 
to Bulgarians. 


June. 


VERDUN. 

(G. take Vaux.) 


26. Austr. drive! 
back. 




July. — I. Battle of 
SOMME (Fr. and 
Br.). 


VERDUN. 




Bulg. threaten Salo- 
nika. 


Aug.— SOMM£. 


VERDUN. 


9. It. offensive 
Goritzia taken. 


Rouman. invade 
Hungary. 


Sept.— SOMM£. — 
25-26. Fr. -Br. take 
Combles. 


29 . G. give up 
VERDUN. 




Fr. drive back Bulgar. 

— Serb, offensive. 

— Roum.beat Mac- 
kensen. 


Oct.- SOMME. — 
18. Fr. take Sailly- 
Saillisel. 


24. Fr. re-take 
Douaumont (6, coo 
prisoners). 


12. It. adv. on Carso 
8 Aug. 12 Oct. = 
30,000 prisoners. 


Serbs adv. on Cerna. 
Roum. lose Kons- 
tantza. 


Nov. — SOMME. — 
18. Br. take Beau- 
mont-Hamel. 


2 . Fr. re-take Vaux. 


2. It. take Faiti- 
Hrib. 


20. Fr. and Serb? 
take Monastir. 
Ro' m. repulsed 


Dec. — July-Nov. : 
105,000 prisoners 
(see page 189). 


r5. Fr. re-take Lou- 
vemont (see page 
261). 


It. gains : 132 towns 
and villages, and 
85,000 pris. since 
May 1915. 


I. Fr. sailors murd. 
in Athens. — 5. 
Roum . lose Bu - 
carest. 



— 292 — 



APPENDIX 



lolG 


RUSSIA 


EAST 


AFRICA 


NAV. & AV. 


Jan. — R. progr. ill 
Poland, take Czer- 
nowitz. 


AlLes leave Gallipoli- 
— R. prog, in Ar- 
menia. 




K. Ediv. VII sunk. — 
Fr. destroy 2nd 
Zepp. 


Feb. — R- take 
Uscieczko. 


R. take Erzeroum. — 
' R takeKermanchah 
(Persia). 


Cameroon conquered 


Dogger Bank skir- 
mish. — Serbs all 
removed by Fr. 
fleet : no losses. 


Mar. — R- offensive 
in Poland. 




Br., Belg., Portug 
attack Germ. E 
Africa. 


25. Br. bomb Schles- 
wig. — 35 G. 
planes destr. by Fr. 
— 13 Fr. planes 
destr. by G. 


April. 


R. take Trebizond. 
9. Br. lose Kut-el- 
Amara. 




Engl, coast shelled 
and bombed. 


May. 




G. evacuate Congo. 


20. 120 bombs on 
Dunkirk. — 31. 
Battle of Jutland. 


June .— R ■ take Snya- 
tin, Lutzk, Czerno- 
witz, Kimpolung 
(205,000 prisoners) . 


Arabia independent. 




U. M. S. Hampshire 
sunk. Death of Kit- 
chener. 


July .-R . take Brody. 


25. R. take Erzind- 
jian. 






Aug. — R. take Sta- 
nislau. 


R. occupy Armenia 






Sept. 




Germ. E. Afr. con- 
quered. 




Oct. 






12 December. 

Germany offers peace. 

18 December. 

Pres. Wilson asks Allies to state their 
aims. 


Galha (Fr.) sunk. — 
G. raid in Channel. 


Nov. 


2 Zepps destroyed 
(Engl.). —26. 
Suffren sunk. 






Dec. 


20. Br. take El- 
Arish. 




G. shell Funchal ; sink 
Gaulois and Regina 
Margheriia. 



— 293 



APPENDIX 



1 o 1 -^ 


BELG. & N.FR. 


EAST FRANCE 


ITALY 


BALKANS 


Jan. 






6. G. take Braila. 


Feb. — From the 
24 th. — Germans 
evacuate 920 sq. 




- 




Mar. 

miles about the 


ends on 13 th March 






Bulg. driven back. — 
Fr. take Fiorina. 


April. — 9-12- Vimy 

(Fr.-Br.). — Br. 
take Monchy. — Gi- 
venchy, Lievin, 


Aisne ofiensive. — 
Fromi6th:Vailly, 




G. attacks in Maced. 


(11,000 pris.). 


5 th : Craonne 
(30,000 pris.) 


May. — Br.takeBul- 
lecourt. 


23. It. takejamiano. 


5 . Venizelists beat 
Bulg. — Allies progr. 


June. — 7-8. Messines 

(7,400 pris.) 
French and British : 
64,500 pris. ; 500 gi 


27. Germ, attack 

Mort-Homme. 
15 Apr.— 30 June: 
ins ; 1,300 m. guns. 




12. Fr. land at Co- 
rinth. — 12. Kmg 
of Gr. abdicates. 


July. — Batt. of Flan- 
ders, begins on 31 : 
Bixsohoote 


19-24. Chemin des 
Dames.— 18. Hill 
304- 






Aug. — - Batt. of Fl. 
16. Langemarck. 


20. Fr. take Mort- 
homme(Deadman's 
Hill). 


It. V. Bainsizza. 


G. attack Rouman. 


Sept. — Batt. of Fl. 
20. Inverness. — 
26. Zonnebeke. — 
Ends Batt. of Fl. 


8. Caurieres Wood. 




Br. prog, on Vardar. 
— Roum . resistance 
firm. 


Oct. — 4,9. I2and22: 
4Brit.offens. N.E. 
Ypres {9,125 pris.). 


2 . Chemin des Da- 
mes (3 kil. adv. 
8,000 pris.). 


24. Germ, offensive 
begins.' 


Scotch take Homon- 
dos. 


Nov. — 5. Br. take 
Passchendaele. — 
20. Off. on Cambrai 
(8,000 pris.). 


2 . Fr. beyond Ch. des 
Dames. — 21. Fr. 
adv. Juvencourt. 


5. G. hold Taglia- 
mento. — 9. Austr. 
take Asiago. — 12. 
G. cross Livenza. — 
16. G. cross Piave. 




Dec. — 4-5- Br. lose 
some ground ab. 
Cambrai. 


1-5 G. att. in Woevre 
and Meuse. 


Allies in Italy. — It. 
success at M. Aso- 
lone. 





294 — 



APPENDIX 



lOl -^ 



RUSSIA 



Jan. — R. V. on 
Dvina and in Bu 
kovina. 



Feb. 



Mar.— 15- Tsar ab- 
dicates. 



April. — 3. R- d. 

on Stockhod. 



May. 



June. 



July. — 9- R- take 
Halicz. — 24. G. 
take Stanislau and 
Tamopol. 



Aug. — 3. G- take 
Czernovitz. 



Sept. — G. take 
Kiga. — R. Livonia 
— KornUof against 
Kerenskv. 



Oct. — CEsel Island 
occupied. 



Nov. — 12. Kerensky 
defeated by Maxi- 
malists. 



Dee. — 3. Maxim. 
open up negocia- 
tions with Germany 



ASIA 



. Anzacs take 
Rafah. 



24. G' Maude takes 
Kut- el- Amara 



8. R. t. Hamadan, — 
II Br. take Bagh- 
dad. 



. Br. join Russ. in 
Mesop. — 23. Br. 
reach Samarra. 



AFRICA 



NAV. & AV. 



(1914 — Jan. 1917). — Allies losses: 
4,500,000 tons. — Built and captured : 
5,312,000 tons. 



2. G. statement on 
ruthless s u b m . - 
warfare. — Br. 
shipping loses 
500,000 tons. 



Br. shipping loses 
536,000 tons. 



Allies lose 850.000 
tons. 



Febr. 5 


: U.S.A. 


break off diplom 


- relations with 


Germ. 


March i 


4 : China 


declares war on 


Germany. 




April 5 


U.S.A. 


» » » 


» 




Dec. 8: 


Revolution in Portugal. 






Allied and neutral shipping Aug. i, 


1914: 41,800,000 tons. 


» 1. 


« 


» May 20, 


1917: 40,900,000 tons. 



29. Br. take Rama- 
dieh (3,000 pris.). 



31. Br. attack Beer- 
sheba. 



7. Br. take Gaza. ^ — 9. 
Br. take Askalon.^- 
17. Br. take Jaffa. 



1 1 . Br. enter Jeru- 
salem, 



— 295 



Ital. success in Tri- 
poli. 



G. East Afr. surren- 
ders (last Germ. 
Colony) . 



22. Br. shell Ostend. 
— -18-29. 4 raids on 
London. — Death 
of Guynemer. 



G. cities bombed. 
— Drake sunk. 



Alcedo{\J.S.A.) sunk. 
— Br. raids off 
Helgoland and in 
Kattegat . 



Essex bombed — 
Jacob Jones {V .S. A.) 
sunk. 



APPENDIX 



To be filled in \ ^^ 1 5H» ^^ ^^'^ reader. 


BELGIAN 
& PORTUG. 


BRITISH 
FRONT 


AMERICAN 
FRONT 


FRENCH 
FRONT 


ITALY 


Jan. 










Feb. 










Mar. 










April. 










May. 










June. 










July. 










Aug. 










Sept. 










Oct. 










Nov. 










Dec. 











— 296 



APPENDIX 



To be filled in 1 £) 1 ^3 by i'he reader 


BALKANS 


RUSSIA 


OUTS. 
EUROPE 


NAVAL 


AVIATION 


Jan. 










Feb. 










Mar. 










April. 










May. 










June. 










July. 










Aug. 










Sept. 










Oct. 










Nov. 










Dee. 











— 297 — 



INDEX 



Numbers between parentheses : (17) refey to maps or illus- 
trations. — Words and Numbers in fat type : 74 refer to the more 
important passages. 



Abolition of slavery : 48. 

Absinth : 71. 

Absolute monarchy : 12, 

20, 34, 75. (87), 88, 94. 

121, 125, 132, 162, 165, 

222, 226, 263. 
Academies : 1, 2, 3, 58, 

109, 119, 125, 162, 172. 
Actors : 52, 156. ' 
Aeronautics : 235, 236, 

278. 

Agriculture : 3, s, 9, 45, 

(45), 58, 148, 151, 167, 
169, 181, 228, 241, (242), 

251, 2S^, 274, 277. 

Aisne : 8, 65, (98), 173- 
Aix : 38, (84), 211. 
AIbi, 38, 42, 81. 
Albigenses : 92, 224, 246. 
Alcohol : 5, 71, 140, 148, 

200, 236, 237, 259, 260, 

278. 
Algeria : 4, 6, 15, 49, 53, 

66, 67, 70, 71,249, 2=ig._ 
Algiers : 43, 44, 97, 135," 

172. 
Alps : 4, 7, 30, 44, (45), 

64, 65, 71, 78, 81, 82, 

106, 238, (242), 256, 

258, 274. 
Alsace : 64, 8t, (87), 94, 

97, 100, 143, 204, 248, 

28T. 

Alsace-Lorraine : n, 

30, 64, 81, (85, 87), 94, 
97, 100, 143, 200, 280, 
282. 

Aluminium : 104, 152, 

237- 
Amiens : 6, 22, 38, 40, 
42, 43. 82, {85), 92, 94, 



(98), 105, 137, 158, 213, 

251. 
Angers : 43, 82. 
Angouleme : 43, 83, 105- 
Animals, (domestic) : 3, 

66, 148, 211 ; (wild) : 

240, 274. 
Anjou : 6, 82, 91, 92, 

105, 151, 152. 
Anniversaries : 220. 
Arabs : 91, 120, 211, 

(243). 

Architects and architec- 
ture : 19, 40, 42, 51, 

171, 213, 224, 241, 263, 

265. 
Ardennes : 66, 78, 82, 

152, (242), 258. 
Aries : (84), 211. 

Army : i8, 25, 30, 49, 
58, 74, 78, 108, 164, 
226, 228, 282. 

Arras : 32, 38, 43, 60, 94, 

(98), 180, 190. 
Arrondissemenis : 198. 
Artisans (see Workmen) 
Artois : 4, 7, 9, 44. 45, 

66, 73. 94, (98), 119, 

180, 182, 186, 203, 204, 

213, 238, 2+7. 

Arts : 31, 40, 59, 153, 
171, 206, 238, 244. 

Athletics : 72, 218- 
Australia : 105, 259. 
Austria : 11, (86), 91. 93, 

118, 159, 247, 250, 

254, 256, 282. 
Auvergne : 7, 19,44,(45)1 

C6, 82, 117, 152, 203, 

204, 209, 227, 238. 

— 299 — 



Avignon : 6, 7, 43, 82, 

91, 204, 223. 
Balance : 13, 23, 32, 33. 

34, 154, 178, 186, 187, 
191, 224, 239, 244, 245, 
259. 264, 273. 
Balzac (the critic) : 25 ; 
(the novelist) : 127, 128, 
2'to, 259. 

Bapaume : 32, (189, 242, 
244). 

Basques : 91, 119, 208. 
Bastille : 14, 33, 89, 96. 

Bathing : 184. 
Battles : (243), (244), etc. 
see wars. 

Bayonet : 33. 

Bayonne : 33, 38, 43, 81, 

92, 135, 214. 

Beauce : 4, 66, 82, 176. 
Beauvais : 38, 42, 62, 64, 

(98), 105, 168, 169. 
Beer : 4, (7°), 7i. 181, 

260. 
Bees : 73. 148. 

Belfort : (33), 34, 78, 81, 
(99), 105, 118, 214. 

Cl. Bernard : 192, 233. 

233. 
Berri : 67, 105, 204, 203. 
BesanQon : 43, 78. (84), 

105, 265. 
Beziers : 70, 91. 
Birds : 55, 218, 274. 
Birthdays : 220. 
Boots : 10, 105, T48. 
Bordeaux : 5, 6, 38, 42, 

(45). 55, 66, 69, 81, 84, 

100, 135, 212, 214, 226, 

247, 271. 



INDEX 



Bossuet : 3, 125, 192, 

224, 248. 
Boulogne : 43, (84), 13^, 

134, 158, 180, 204, 

214, 226. 
Bourbonnais : 151, 204, 

258. 
Bourbons : 74, 118, 164. 

Bourgeois : 34, 185, 201, 
278. 

Bourges : 38, 42, 43, 81, 

{84), 104, 151, 239. 
Brest : 43, (45), 81, {84), 

132, 135, 214, 270. 
Brie : 4, 7, 66, 176. 
Briey : {99), 147, 148, 

151. 
Bnsques : $g. 
Brittany : 4, 5, 6, 7, 20, 

44, (45), 66,67,71,(87), 

91, 92, 105, 119, 152, 

187, 203, 204, 209, 213, 

214, 227, 230, 247, 270. 
Burgundy : 5, 13, 19, 55, 

69, 70, 80, (87), 90, 93, 

151, 175, 190, 204, 209, 

213, 238, 246, 274. 
Butter : 7, 3, 55. 
Cables : 202. 
Caen : 43, 82, 134- 
Cafes : 36, 218. 
Cahors : 65, (84), bibl. 

205 ; see Quercy. 
Calais : 43, 94, 105, 134, 

180, 214, (242), 247. 
Calorie : 146. 
Calvados : 65, 71, 213. 
Calvin : 125, 171, 221, 

223. 
Cambrai : 38, 43, (86), 

(98), 167. 
Canada : 46, (82), 94, 

249, 258. 
Canals: 46, 134, 237, 263, 

270. 
Candles: 10, 148, 234, 253. 
Cantons: 198. 
Capetians: 13, 19, 74, (87), 

88, 91 et seq., 164, 175, 

190, 2O4. 
Capital ciUes : 8, 173, 175, 

226. 
Carcassonne: 38, 43, 65, 

81, 83. 
Carnots: 100, 233. 
Carpets: 62, 105. 
Cars; 234, 278. 



Cathedrals: 8, 37, 62, 

239- 
Catholicism (Roman) (see 

R. C. Church). 
Cattle; 7, 66, 148. 
Celts: (12), 19, 90, 119, 

,120, 121, 153, 208, 230, 

238. 

Cement: 105, 237. 
Central France : 5 (45) , 67, 

82, 85, 105, 209, 211, 

238, 256,258; also:Au- 

vergne, Berri, etc. (see 

204). 
Centralisation : see Absolute 

Monarchy; Unity. 
Ceramics: 64, 148, 152. 
Cereals: 4 ; (5), 9, 45, 49, 

53, 148, 181, 252, 260. 
Cette: 43, 70, 135, 271. 
Cevennes : 7, 67, 82, 104, 

205 bibl., (242). 
Champagne : 5, 9, 67, 69, 

70, 77, 92, (98), 105, 

137,144, 204, 238,(242), 

281. 
Charente (river): 82, 270 ; 

(Dept.): 65, 69. 
Charlemagne: i, 8, 10, 86, 

91, 122, 155, 210, 260. 
Charleroi : (98), 136, 139, 

(242). 
Charles VII: 22, 93, m, 

(113), 212, 247. 
Charles X : see Restoration. 
Charles V of Spain : 32, 

(86), 93, 190, 247, 271. 
Chartres : 22, 24, 38, 40, 

42, 174, 263. 
Chateaux: (21), 22,(22), 23. 
Cheese : 7, 53. 
Chefs-lieux : 198. 
Chemists: 14, 230, 237. 
Cherbourg: 43, 81, 132, 

133, 134. 
Chevrons: 59. 
Chivalry : 72, 91, 164, 247. 
Christianity : 37, 38, 40, 90. 
Christmas : 220, 228. 
Cider : 7, 71. 

Cities : 43, 80, 179, 200. 
Class distinctions : 35, 166. 
Classical (art) : 23, 155, 

172, 240 (literature) : 125. 
Cleanliness: 44, 184. 
Clermont-Ferrand: 43,(45), 

(84), 212, 214. 



Climate : 8, 31, 44, (45); 

55, 67, 147, 180, 244; 
251, 259. 

Clogs : 227. 

Clovis: 8, 10, 43, 90. 

Coal : 10, 53, 134 et seq., 

148, (150), 167, 180, 

181. 

Cock-fighting : 218. 
Coffee: 36, 53, (70). 
Cognac: 69, 83. 
Coins: 73, 146, 267. 
Colbert: I, 35, 61, 94,129, 

133, 171, 253, 257, 258. 
Colonies : 46, (53), 59, 92, 

100, loi, 115, 132, 134, 

250, 274, 278, 281, 282. 
" Comedie-Frangaise " : 

51. 
Commerce;: 34, 36, 43, 

49, 52, 77, 134, (242), 

253, 271, 276, 277. 
Communes : 8, 35, 91, 100, 

122, 198, 226, 254, 257. 
Complexity: ig, 20, 31, 

44, 55, 66, 75, 76, 205 

et seq., 222, 275, 276. 
A. Comte : 192, 196, 234. 
Concordats: 158, 223. 
Condes: 11, 55, 94, 103, 

248. 
Cind^rcet: 126, 192, 196. 
Conscription: 28, 143. 
Conservatism : 2, 52, 72, 

75, 80, 146, 203, etc. 
Conservatoires: 52, 155, 

234- 
Constituante: 8, 11, 95, 145, 

197, 252. 
Constitutions : 100, 197 ; 

also 56. 
Consulat : 97. 
Continental B'.ookade : 105, 

Convention: 1, 51, 97 j 
109, 155, 265. 

Cooking : 29,55, 67,203, 
219, 245. 

Copper : 10, 152, 181. 
Corbie : 94, 213, 252. 
Corneille: i, 52, 125, 194, 

210. 
Corsica: 65, 66, 35, 157, 

203, 204, 211. 
Cotton : 9, 53, 105, 148, 

251. 
Creusot : 104, 151. 



— 300 — 



Critics : 14, 102, 125, 128, 

129, 182, 241, 244, 252, 

266. 
Crockery : 105, 148. 
Crusades: 88, 91 et seq., 

168, 181, 246, 252. 
Culture: 11, 14, 52, 109, 

124, 244, 272. 
Dagobert: i ), 77, 86, 91. 
Darwin : 126, 229. 
Dauphine : 78, 105, 106, 

112, 151, 203, 204, 247. 
Decorations : 58, 262. 
Decorative arts : 4°. 59, 

228, 278. 
Democracy : 13, 35, 88, 

112, 154 — see Equality. 
Denain : 95, {98), 104, 131, 

249. 

** Departements " : 65, 

109, 159, 197, 226. 

Depopulation : 200. 
Descartes: 125, 191, i93. 

231, 232. 
Dialects: 119, 203, 252, 

267. 
Dictionaries : i , 3 bibl. ,121, 

122 bibl. 
Dieppe : 43, (98), 134. 
Dijon : 43, 78, (86), (99), 

214. 
Directoire: 97 ; (Style) : 63. 
Directories : 106. 
Distilleries : 70. 
Divines : 171, 191. 
Dogs: 7.66. 

Domestic animals : 66. 

Donkeys : 55, 66. 
Dordogne : 5, 65, 82, (242). 

Dot : 68, 201. 

Drama and dramatists: i, 
II. 34, 36, 52, 126. 

Drinks : 36, 69 (7°)- 

Duels : 72, 247- 

Dunkirk : 43, 79. (98), 105. 
120, 134, 167, 214. 

East France : 4, 5, 45. 65, 
69, 144, etc., see Alsace, 
Champagne, and 20th, 

Economists: 126, 201,230, 
234, 249 ; also : Sociolo- 
gists. 

Education : 35, 109, 122 
230. 

Eggs : 7, 53, 55. 

Egypt : 46, 48, 64, 97 
loi, 280. 



1NDE5C 

Emblems (national) : 73- 

Emigration : 15, 17, 200. 

Empire (First) : 157-162 ; 
(style) : 63. 

Empire (Second) : 100 ; see 
Napoleon III ;( style) : 64. 

Enamel : 64. 

Encyclopedie : 126, 154. 

Engineering and engineers 
258, 271. 

England and Fr. : 2, 4, 5, 
6, 7, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 
45, 48, 52, 64, 66, 69, 
75, 76, 81, 88, loi, 120, 
123, 135, 151, 192, 205, 
225, 228 (243), 254, 
258,272,274, 275 ;also: 
French and E. ;Wats ; etc. 

Epics : 124, 246, 266. 

Epigrams : 3, 28, 46, 58, 

72, 73, 208, 266, 271. 
Epinal: 43, 78, (99). io5- 
Equality : 24, 28, 68, 75, 89, 

109, 200, 201, 274, 279. 
Etiquette : 72, 75, 80, 

274. 275- 
Etrennes : 219. 
Etymologies : 36, 67, 70, 

73, 77, 102, 119, 145. 
164, 198, 214, 228, 252, 
268, 269, 274. 

Examinations : no. 
Exhibitions : 77. loo-ioi. 
Explosives : 237, 246 (283). 
Exports : (53), 54, I34. 
i6g. 

Fairs : 77,(242). 

Family relations : 46, 68, 
79, 102, 266, 275, 277. 

Fasting : 220. 

Fecamp : 71, 134. 

Federalism: 97, 205 bibl., 
223. 

Feminism : 69, 278. 

Festivals : 36, 77, 220. 

Feudalism : n, 13, 22, 34, 
(86), 88, 238. 

Finances (national) : 133, 
252. 

Fine champagne : 70. 

Fisheries : 134, 254, 277. 

Flags : 74, i34. 254- 

Flanders : 7, 20, 44. 60, 
62, 66, 71, 77. 82, 86, 
(87), 92. 94, (98), 155, 
167, 171, 184, 186, 187 

— 301 — 



204, 213, (242, 243), 

246, 247. 
Flax : 7, 9, 53, 105, 251. 
Fleur-de-lis : 73, 74. 
Flora : {45), 71, 258. 
Flowers : 80, 259. 
Foch : 137, 140, 250. 
Fonciionnarisme : 48. 
Food : 6, 7, 105, 106, 254, 

259, 270 ; also Cooking. 
Foreigners in F. : 25, 29, 

49, 78, 96, 179, 206, 210- 

213. 
Foreign Legion : 30, 281 . 

Forests : 3, 9, 45. (84), 
147, 167, 168, 181, 257, 
263, 274, 277. 
Fortifications (21), 32, 40, 

78, 177- 
Fourrag^re : 59. 
Fowls : 7, 67. 
France (defined): 241, 271- 
273 ; (its name) : 85 ; 
(shape) : '81) ; (size) : 
(82) ; (growth) : (87), 91- 
loi ; (since 1914) '■ 6, 7. 
13, 73, 146, 150, 202, 
216, 276, 284 ; (future) : ' 
16, 50, 151, 245. 
Francis I : 32, 44, (86), 93, 

171, 204, 223, 247. 

Frankish rule : 12, 19, 34, 

84, (85). 90, 124, 175, 

189, 209, 211, 226, 252. 

B. Franklin : 117, i43. 

271. 
French and Latin : 119, 
252, 268 ; see Etymolo- 
gies. 
French and English : 102, 
no, 121, 225, 228, 244, 
252, 270. 
French at the front : 267. 
Frogs : 55- 
Fronde : 88, 190, 240. 

Frontiers : 78, 81, 83, 

(243). 271- 

Fruit : 6, 7, 71- 

Funerals : 79. 266. 

Furniture : 59. 
Games : 36, 218, 225, 
Gardens : (22), 103, 178, 

259, 263. 
Garden produce : 6 ; see 

Vegetables. 
Garlic : 6, 55. 



INDEX 



Garonne : 4, 6, 82, 207, 

(242). 
Gascony : 4, 66, 67, 82, 

208. 
Gaul : 8, 12, 19, 20, 64, 

69, 78, 83, (84), 90, 119, 

146, 174, 203, 205, 206, 
227, 238, 246, 258, 260, 
271, 280. 

Gendarmes : 106. 
Geographical : 81, pas- 
sim. 
Geology of France : 70, 108, 

147, 167, 168, 180, 238, 
250. 

Germany : 4, 7, 11, 30, 
52, 77, 78, 81, 105, 151, 
199, 227, 234, 245, 248, 
254, 259, 271, 272,279, 
280, 282. 

Glass : 9, 22, 105, 148. 

Gloves : 105, 148. 

Goats : 66, 148. 

Gothic : 19,40, 171, 181, 
224, 238. 

Gouvernements : 197, 203. 

Government : 198. 

Grains (see Cereals). 

Grammar : 121. 

Greek influence : 70, 77, go, 
120, 124, 174, 210, 238, 
(239), 240, (242), 249, 
278. 

Grenades : 83. 

Grenoble : 78, 105. 
Guide-books : 108. 
Guilds : 42, 175, 205, 219. 
Guises : 9, 93, 94, 190, 247, 

248. 
Gulf-stream : 6, 44, {45), 

46, 258. 
Guyenne : (87), 91, 92, 

(113), 204, 209, 212. 
Hannibal : 90, (243), 248. 
Harbours : 132, 240. 
Havre : 43, 44, 105, 133, 

134, 204, 214. 
Health : 45, 66, 69, 257, 

258. 
Hemp : 7, 9, I05, 251. 
Henry IV : 61, 88, 94, 

103, 128, 177, 208, 217, 

248, 249, 259. 
Historical : 83. 

Holidays : no, 220. 

Home : 101, 277. 
Horses : 55, 66, 211. 



Hospitality : 56, 76, 102, 

187. 
Houses : 23, {60), 64, 103, 

106, 148, 253, 273. 
Hugo (see Victor Hugo). 

Huguenots : 103. 

Huns : 90, 91, 174, 211, 

(243). 
Ile-de-France : 7, 20, 105, 

204. 
Immigration: 15, 171, 200, 

244. 
Imports : 7, 53, 134, 169. 
India : 48, 56, 95, 232, 

249. 
India corn : 4, 5, 
Individualism : 3, 46, 89. 

Industries : 52, 104, 148, 
167, 181, 236, 251, 254, 
260, 278, 280. 

Information : 106. 

Insignia (military) : (26), 

(27), 59. 
Institut : i. 

Instruction : 109. 

Intelligence : 20, 32, 123, 

154, 272, 275, 278. 
Invalides : 24, 161. 
Invasions: 8, 32, 71, 90 et 

seq., 211 et seq., (243), 

244. 
Inventions : 20, 234 et 

seq. 
Irish in F. : 213. 
Iron : 9, 24, 104, 148, 151, 

169, 181. 
Italian influence : 23, 24, 

62, 64, jy, 120, 124, 155, 

171, 213, 239, 240, 259. 
Jam : 7, 260. 
Jansenism : 192, 224. 
Jews : 8, 18, 49, 170, 212, 

221. 
Joan of Arc : 42, 88, 93, 

111, 174, 214. 
Joffre : 58, 115, 136. 

Jura : 5, 78, 81, 82, r44, 

152, (242), 258. 
Kaolin : 152. 
Kilns : 106. 

La Fayette : 74. 96, 100, 

117, 144, 163. 
La Fere : 10, 79, (98), 

157. 
La Fontaine : 11, 125, 126. 
Lamarck.: 192, 229, 231, 

233, 252. 



Land-values : 3, 4. 
Landes : 135, 218, 258. 
Langres : 78, 84, (99). 

Language : 2, 32, 76, 79, 
82, (87), 109, 119, 219, 
225, 228, 252, 270 ; also : 
etymologies, and French. 

Languedoc : 4, 19, 70, 82, 
92, 105, 203, 204, 209. 

Laon : 9, 10, 42, 43, 79, 
(98). 

La Rochelle: 38, 43, 133, 
135. 

Law : 34, 68, 72, 92, loi, 
198, 206, 221, 257, 276. 

Le Mans : 43, 67, 65 (see 
Maine). 

P. Lescot : 23, 212, 239. 

Letter-writing : 75. 

Libraries : 122. 

Licenses : 253, 274. 
Light : 44, 234-236. 
Lighthouses : 234, 238. 
Ligue : 11, 32, 88, 94, 

190, 248. 
Lille : 43, 79, 94, (g8), 

104, 105, 143, 167, 214, 

249. 
Limoges : 38, 43, 92, 105, 

152, 214. 
Limousin : 4, 92, (113), 

204. 
Liqueurs: 71, 260. 

Literature : 2, 40, 102, 

123, 154, 266. 

Loire : 4, 5, 23, 82, 104, 

151, (242). 
Lorient : 43, 135. 
Lorraine : 11, 45, 64, 66, 

71, (85), 91, 95, (99), 

104, III, 147, 151, 204, 

239, 247, 260. 
Louis IX (see St Louis). 
Louis XI : 22, 32, 88, 93, 

124, 190, 204. 

Louis Xni : 62, 94, 263. 

Louis XIV : i, 20, 23, 

51, 55, 61, 62, 75, 78, 

83, 88, 94, 103, 121, 125, 
128, 155, 171, 204, 223, 
224, 229, 249, 263. 

Louis XV : 24, 63, 65, 
89, 95, 133. 204, 249, 
265. 

Louis XVI : 5, 63, 95, 
117, 118, 133, 164, 249, 

Louis XVII : 97. 



— 302 — 



INDEX 



Louis XVIII : see Resto- 
ration. 

Louis-Piiilippe : 64, 73, 
100, 265. 

Louvre : 23, 61, 62, 92, 
176, 263. 

Love and marriage : 68. 

Lycees : 58, 110, 218. 

Lyons : 5, (37), 38, 43, 

44, 62, 64, 77, 82, (84), 

90, 92, 97, 104, 105, 
151, 152, 175, 204, 214, 
226, 236, 244. 

Lys r 78, 79. (98). 
Mail : 131, 217. 
Mails : 202, 226. 
Maine (river) : 82, 270; 
(province) : 43, 67, 71, 

91, 92, 105, 204. 

Man with the iron mask : 

130. 
Maps : (107), 108. 
Marines : 25, 30, 120, 139. 

Maritime : 132. 

Marne (river) : 4. 8, 82, 
(98), 173, 270; (Dept.): 
65 ; (battle) : 136, i57, 
246. 

Marriage : 68, 80, 201. 

Marseillaise : 96, 143, 
154- 

Marseilles : 38, 43, 44, 

45, 64, 77, 82, (84), 90, 
105,133, 144,157,210, 
215, 226, 240, (242), 271. 

Matches : 253. 
Maubeuge : 43, 79, (98), 

104, 214, 286. 
Mayors : 35, 106, 143, 

198. 
Mazarin : 24, 88, 129, 133, 

172, 190. 
Meaux : (98), 105, 142. 
Medals : 58, 59, 249. 
Metallurgy : 10, 53, 106, 

151. 

Metric system : 145. 

Metz : 11, 43, 78, (86), 
93, (99), 100, 117, 138, 
175, 204, 247, 260. 

Meurthe-et-Moselle : n, 
147. 

Meuse : 8, 11, 78, (98), 
(242), 260, (261), 270, 
287. 

Mezieres : 43, (86), (98), 
214, 260. 



Middle nges : 20, 34, 38, 
60, 62, 64, 73, 74, 75, 
77, 123, 171, 2og, 219, 
238, 241, (242). 

Milk : 7, 66, 267. 

Minerals : 148, 150, 169, 
181, 232, 236, 238, 251, 
277. 

Ministries : 3, 6, 52, 58, 

227, 254. 
Misiral : 44, also : 119. 
Moderation : see balance. 
Modem art : 24, 64, 156, 

172, 240 ; (literature) : 
128. 

Moliere : 2, 34, 51, 129. 
Monopolies : 253. 
Mons : (98), 136, (242). 
Montaigne : 125, 193,230. 
Montesquieu : 126, 192, 

195. 
Montmartre : 152, 173, 

217. 
Monuments : 19, (37), 

{41}, 51, (84), 152, 174, 

183, 217, 238, 240, (241), 

(260), 263. 
Morality : 2, 102, 272. 
Moselle : 11, 78, (242), 

270. 
Mottoes : 75, 164. 
Mountains : 44, 71, 82, 

237, (242),- 271. 
Mourning : 80, 220. 
Mules : 66. 
Mulhouse : 13, 43, (99), 

288. 
Mushrooms : 6. 
Music and musicians : 56, 

143, 153, 203,219, 228. 
Names : 120, 152, 163, 

173, 220. 

Nancy : 38, 43, 78, 81, 
82, 97, (99), 105, 132, 
135, 138, 148, 214, 281. 

Nantes : 6, 38, 43, (81), 
82, 97, 105, 132, 135, 
214, 258, 270. 

Napoleon I. : 4, 14, 28, 

30, 33, 42, 48, 52, 58, 
63, 73, 78, 83, 97, 109, 
118, 129, 130, 133, 157, 
(158), 166, 200, 223, 225, 
235, 248,- 249, 253, 259, 
265, 275. 
Napoleon III : 14, 24, 28, 
58, (87), 100, 166, 265. 



Napoo : 268, 

Narbonne : 70, 214, 226^ 

National army: 25. 

— capital : 3, 226, 

242, 252, 298! 

— debt : 255. 

— education : 109. 

— emblems : 73. 
Navarre : 74, 92, 94, 204, 

248. 
Navig ;tion Companies : k6. 

134. 
Navy : 117, 130, 132. 
Nevers : 43, 64, 82, 93, 

105, 204, 205 bib'. 
Newton : 183, 233. 
Nice : 43, 67, 78, 81, (87), 

93, 100, 204, 211, 214. 
Nimes : 19, 24, 38, 43, 

78, 81, 82, (84), 91, 211, 
214. 

Nobility : 12, (22), 25, 
34, 56, 65, 80, 92, 93, 

94, 95, 96, 112, 163, 
222, 231, 235, 246, 263. 

Nord (Dept.) : 167 ; 

(railw.) : 214, 216; also 
Flanders, N. France, etc. 

Normandy : 7, 45, 66, 67, 
71, 82, (85), 92, 105, 
133, 151, 204, 205, 213, 
214, 256. 

Normans : 19, 91, 175, 
189, 210, (243), 246. 

Norih France : 4, 5, 7, 8, 

20, 31, 45, 53, 55, 65, 
69, 77, 104, 105, 106, 
119, 123, 151, 208, 209, . 
218, 238, 241, 253, 258,' 
275- 

Notre-Dame of Paris : 20, 

21, 22, 37, 92, 205, 
226, 249, 266. 

Novelists : 2, 11, 102, 125, 
127, 128, 252, 278. 

Octroi : 254. 

Official publications : 6, 
50, 108. 

Officials : 34, 35, 46, 52, 

79, 109, III, 132, 198, 
218, 274, 277. 

Oil : 7, 53, 55. 

Oise : 8, 79, 82, (98), 
168, 173, (242), 270. 

Olive : 7, 45, 55, 210, 
259- 

Orange : 19, (84), 211. 



303 — 



INDEX 



Orators : 2, 11, 14, i5. 

16, 28, 51, 96, 97. 98, 

100, 154, 182, 214, 271, 

279. 
Origins of French. 
Orleanais and Orleans : 

43, 175, 203, 204, 214, 

(242), 258. 
Ostriches : 67. 
Ouicq ; 8. 
Painters and painting : 

(l), II, 14, 3i> 62. 149. 

153, 168, 171, 182. 
B. Palissy : 64, 231, 233. 
Paper mills : 10, 105, 251. 
Parcel-post : 203. 

Paris : i, 6, s, 24, 34, 

42, 43, 44, 45, 51. 55. 

59, 60, 64, 74, 77, 79. 
(84), 86, 91, 92,93, {98), 
100, 119, 122, 132, 142, 
152, 160, 173, 183, 199, 
204, 217, 218, 226, 234, 

236, 252, 259, 263. 
Parliament : 14, 35, 95, 

122, 198. 
Parties (political) : 89. 
Pascal : 125, 192, 194, 

232, 233, 237. 

Pas-de-Calais : 180. 
Pasteur : 182, 196, 233. 

Pastures : 3, 9, 168, 181. 
Patriotism : 14, 84, loi, 
102, 187, 203, 272, 279. 
Paume : 131, 217. 

Peasants : 3> 25, 34, 35, 

42, 46, 55, 59, 66, 67, 
85, 89, 92, 104, 119, 
166, 184,201, 228, 243, 
252, 268, 277, 278. 

Peat : 9, 250. 

Perfumes : 259. 

Perigord and Perigueux : 
7, 55.65, (84), 92, (113)- 

Peronne : 32. (98), 131, 
189. 

Perpignan : 38, 43, 81, 

214. 
Perry : 71. 

Persecutions : 103, 212. 
Petain : 250, 262. 
Philippe-Augusta : 88, 92, 

133. 176. 
Philanthropy : 2, 24, 218, 

237, 252, 257, etc. 
Philosophers and philo- 



sophy : 125, 168, 191- 
197. 

Phoenicians : 77, {242). 
Photography : 235. 
Picardy : 4, 7, 8, 20, 44, 

45. 71, 77, 82, 93, 94, 

(98), 119, 120, 184, 186, 

203, 204, 205, 213, 221, 

238, 250, 252. 
Pigeons, pigs : 7, 67, 148. 
Piqueite : 71. 
Poetry ?nd poets : 11, 14, 

119, 123, 265. 
Poilus : 103, 262, 268. 
Poincares : loi, 197, 232, 

262, 281. 
Poitiers and Poitou : 19, 

35. 38, 42, 43. 66, (84), 

91, 92. (113). 169, 204, 
211, 214, (242). 

Police : 106. 

Political organisation : 35, 
65, 197, 276. 

Population : 8, 10, 16, 
49, 83, 148, 167, 179, 
199, 200, 251, 258. 

Porcelain : 64, 105. 

Postal : 202. 

Potatoes : 5, 135. 

Prefets : 199. 

Presidents : 100, 101, 143, 

198. 
Primeurs : 6. 
Protection : 52, 253. 
Protestantism : 8, 12, 94, 

103, 130, 170, 182,221, 

230, 231, 233, 240. 
Provence : 7, 19, 55, 77, 

82, 90, 119, 152, 204, 

210, 213. 
Provinces : 203. 
Prussia : 11, 28, 48, (86), 

92, 159, 162, 177, 187. 
260, 262, 265, 280. 

Pyrenees : 5, 66, 70, 78, 
85. 115. 152, 187, 207, 
213, 238, 256, 258, 274. 

Quartier Latin : 174,205. 

Quercy : 92, (see Cahors). 

Quintal : 146. 

Rabelais : 125, 205, 230. 

Races : n, (12), 17, 31, 

206, 244. 
Railways : 6, 10, 14, 148, 

152, 170, 214, 226, 234, 

(242), 253. 281. 
Radium : 236. 

— 304 — 



Recreations : 2x7. 

Ked-Cr' ss : 276. 

Red-letter days : 36, 219, 

228. 
Religion : 13, '4. 102, 109, 

188, 220, 221, 225, 228. 
Renaissance : 22, 60, 61, 

62, 68, 124, 154, 155, 

239- 
Renan : 127, 196, 229. 
Rennes : 43, 65, 82, 204. 
Republic set up : 73, 89, 

240. 
Republic (Second) : 73, 

100, 265. 
Republic (Third) : 58, 62, 

73. 75, 100. 
Restaurants : 36. 
Rfstoration : 42, 73, 74, 

97, 160, 190, 265. 
" Revanche " : 225. 

Revenue : 252, 257, 274. 

Revolutions (general) : 35, 
245 ; (prior to 1789) : 34, 
35, 91; (of 1789) : 13, 
51. 73, 75, 95, 133, 154, 
165, 172, 223, 228, 244, 
249, 259; (of 1830) : 14, 
29, 73, 100, 122; (of 
1848) : 14, 73, 100, i65. 

Rheims : 8, 10, 22, 38, 42, 
43, 54,78, (84), 91, (98), 
105, 129, 138, 214. 

Rhine : 78, (84, 87), 97, 
144, 226, (242, 243), 270. 

Rhone : 5, 44, 45, 82, 134, 

211, (242). 

Richelieu : i, 32, 33, 44, 
72, 88, 94, 128, 130, 133, 
223, 234, 241. 

Rivers : 8, 11, (82), 147, 
168, 180, 270. 

Roads : 9, 1°, (84), 148, 
226, 262. 

Rochambeau : 117, 144. 

Rochefort : 43, 83, 105, 
132. 

R. C. Church : 12, 14, 19, 
24, 35, 38, 72, 74, 80, 
91, 95, 100, loi, 114, 
120, 123, 125, 158, 177, 

212, 219,221, 260, 275. 
Romanesque : 19, 238. 
Roman influence : 8, 12, 

19, 20, 23, 34, 38, 59, 
64, 73, 77, 83, (84), 86, 
119, 124, 160, 205, 207, 



INDEX 



209, 211, 226, 227, 252, 

275- 
Romanticism : 21, 127, 

172, 192, 240. 
Rondes : 219. 
Roubaix : 43, 53. 105, 

167. 
Rouen : 10, 24, 38, 42, 

43. 53, 64, 82, 91, (98), 

105, 114, 134. 
Rousseau : 126, 192, 196. 
Roussillon : 5, 6, 70, (87), 

94, 204- 

" Sabots" : 227. 

Sailors : 48, 93, 117, 133, 

149, 168. 
Saints (favorite, or French) : 
10, 74, 77, 91, III, 149, 
228, 251 ; (patron) : 148, 
174, 220 ; (Saint-Cloud) : 
67, 77, 263 ; (Saint-De- 
nis) : 22,58, 74, 77,91, 
Q3, 94, 174, 247, 248; 
(Saint-Etienne) : 43, 104, 
105; (Saint -Germain) : 
148, 265 ; (Saint-Gobain) : 
9, 10; (Saint-Louis) : 43, 
72, 92, 122, 124, 241 ; 
Saint-Malo) : 135 ; (Saint- 
Nazaire) : 43, 105, 135; 
Saint-Quentin) : 8, (86), 
(98), 105, 131, (242). 

Saint-Simons (memoria- 
list : 125, 131, 165 ;(social 
reformer) : 234. 

Saintonge and Saintes : 66, 
(84), 91, 92, 204. 

Salaries, etc. : 3, 4, 6, 7, 
29, 57, 69, no, 276, 277. 

Salic law : 92. 

Salt : 148, 152. 

Salutations : 76, 80. 

Sambre : 78, 79, (98). 

Saone : 4, 77, 82, (242), 
270. 

Saumur : 5, 204. 

Savoy : 65, (87), 93, 94, 
100, 144, 204, 209, 249. 

Scheldt : 8, 78, 79, (98), 
270. 

Scholars : 168, 171, 182, 
230-232. 

Schools : 13, 14, 18, 24, 
28, 109, no, 115, 132, 
206, 218, 220, 227, 258, 
259. 



Science and scientists : 
2, 24, 171, 182, 192, 
206, 228-234, 259. 

Scots : 29, 92, 122, 192, 
205, 212. 

Sculptors and sculpture : 
14, (23), (3^). 34, 73, 
149, 168, 238, (239), 
240, (241), 263. 

Sedan : (99), 100, 105, 204. 

Seme: 4, 82, 174, (242), 
263. 

" Seventy-five " : gun 

141,245, (283). 

Shakespeare : 123, 271. 

Sheep : 7, 49, 67, 148. 

Shipp'ng : 133-136. 

Shooting : 218, 220, 274. 

Silk : 9, 53, 54, 62, 105, 
239, 251, 259. 

Situation and conse- 
quences : 241. 

Sk.ll : 20, 32, 59, 62, 242, 

278, 279. 
Slang: 119, 121,228, 269. 
Snails: 55, 57. 
Soap : 105, 251. 
Socialism : 16, 228, 266, 

276, 278, 279. 
Sociologists : 9, 126, 201, 

230, 249, 274. 
Soissons : 8, 10, 38, 42, 

90, (98), 175, 276. 

Soldiers : n, (30), 33, 34, 

49, 90, 104, 124, 134, 
137, 140, 149, 168, 181, 
190, 214, 242, 245, 246, 
259- 

Somme : 8, 90, (98), 189, 
233, 238, 250, 270. 

Sorbontip : 24, 77, 92, 205. 

Sou h Africa : 104. 

Soutb France : 19, 23, 31, 
55, 65, 66, 67, 69, 119, 
123, 151, 166, 208, 211, 
218, 219, 238, 241, 246, 
258, 259,275- 

Spain : 19, 32, 48, (86), 
97, 177. 190, 207, 213, 
224, 247, 248, 265, 271. 

Sports : 131, 217, 274. 

States General : 13,35,48, 
95, 217, 265. 

Statesmen : 9, 10, 14, 35, 
46, 83, 91, 93, 95, 100, 
117, 143, 181, 182, 200, 
214, 259, 281. 

— 305 — 



Statistics : 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 
25, 42, 49, 52, 67, 105, 
134, 136, 150, 151, 152, 
167, 181, 200, 202, 215, 
216, 226, 227, 247, 252,. 
257, 271, 277. 

Steam-power; 10, 106,135^ 
169, 181, 234, 235, 237. 

Steel : 10, 104, 236. 

Stills : 70. 

Stone : g, 19, 152, 181. 

Strasbourg: 12, 43, 93, 
(99), 143. 

Streets : 36, 43. 

Stress in F. : 120. 

Suffrage : 254, 276. 

Sugar : 7, 9, 10, 53, (70),. .. 
91, 105, 148, 251, 253. 

Sundjy : 221. 

Surgery : 232. 

Taine : 127, 196. 

Tapestry : 59. 

Taxation : 218, 249,252, 
274, 276. 

Telephone: 202,235. 
Textiles: 33, 105, 167, 251,, 

259- 
Theatres: 24, 51, 211. 

Thermal (springs): 9, 152; 

(stations) : 256. 
Thrift: 67, 71, 254,266,. 

273, 277, 278, etc. 
Tinned (fish) : 135 ; (fruit) 

7 ; (vegetables) : 6. 
Tobacco : 7, 148, 167, 253 
Toul : 43, 78, (86), 93, (99), 

147, 204, 244, 260. 
Toulcn : 43, 132, 157, 214, 

240. 
Toulouse : I, 7, 19, 38, 43,. 

55, 67, 77, 81, 82, (84), 

90, 105, 204, 209, 211, 

214, 226, 238, 239, (242), 

246, 248, 271. 
Touraine : 91, 119, 204, 

bibl. 205, 238. 
Tourcoing : 43, (98), 105. 
lours : 7, 38, 43, 82, 204, 

214. 
Travellers : 48, 230, 231. 
Trees (notable) : 7, 71, 135, 

258, 259. 
Troyes: 65, 82, (98), 204. 
Truffles : 7, 55. 
Turgot : 35, 126, 230. 
United States and Fr. : 6, 

18, 44, 45, 48, 52, 66, 



75, 76, 103, ii5, 117, 
143, 144, 151, 178, 199. 
207, 228, 230, 233, 236, 
240, 249, 254, 255, 259, 
, 265, 271, 272, 279, 282. 

Unity : i, ix, 13, 20, 23, 
32, 33, 59, 74- 83-89, 
97, 124, 131, 144, 179, 
225, 226, 245, 254. 

Universities : 49, 77, 9-, 
109, 122, 158, 176, igi, 
205. 

Valenciennes: 43, 64, (98), 
105, 167. 

Valmy : 96, (98), 100, 288, 
(242). 

Vauban : n, 32, 33, 165, 
200, 249, 260, 262. 

Vegetables : 5, 6, 9, 103. 

Vendee : 70, 82, 97, 211. 

Verdun : 38, 50, 78, 85, 

(86), 93, 96, (99)- 120, 
137, (138), 143, 186,249, 
260. 
Verdun partition : 12,(85), 
91, 260. 

Versailles : 20, 24, 38, 40, 

43, (62), 63, 88, 95, 100, 

118, 165, 1S6, 259, 263. 
Victor Hugo : i, 21, 123, 

124, 127, 128, 164, 184, 

265. 
Vienne (R.) : 82, (242}; 

(city) : 105, (84). 
Vinegar : 10, 55, 253. 



INDEX 

Vineyards : 3, 4, 9, 45, 55, 
70, 168, 210, 259. 

Volcanoes : 44, 82. 

Voltaire : 46, (51), 123, 
126, 192, 195, 208. 

Vosges : 11, 44, (45), 78, 
81, 82, 105, 147, r52, 
(242), 256, 258. 

Wars (in general) : 13, 55, 
177, 186, 241, (243), 245, 
246, 272 ; (100 years') : 
8, 25, 10, 82, 92, 111, 
186, 247; (in Italy) ; 23, 
(86), 93, 247; (of reli- 
gion) : 93, 103, 248; (30 
years') : 94, 248; (Louis 
XIV) : 94-95, 248-249 ; 
(Louis XV) : 95, 249, 
269: (Indep.ofU.S. A.): 
95, 117, 249, 265; (Re- 
volutionary) ; 96-97, 143, 
249; (Naonleon'c) : 8, 
32, 78, 157-161, 249, 
265 ; (Indep. of Greece) : 
97, 249 ; (Indep. of Bel- 
gium) : 100, 249 ; (In- 
dep.' of Italy) : 100, 250; 
(the Crimea) : 100, 250; 
(of 1870-71) : 8. 11, 32, 
34, 50, 59> 100, 225, 
250, 253, 256, 260, 265, 
280; (c 'lonial) : 48, 100- 
101, 250; (present) : see 
world-war. 

War-French : 267. 



Wat?r-power : 106, 152, 
234, 237. 

■Waterways : 8, 10, 82, 
148, 270. 

Weshts and measures :, 
145, 203. 

Western France : 7, 45, 55, 
65, 69, 82, 152, 166, 209, 
210, 211, 258, etc. ; see : 
Briltauy, Maine, Nor- 
inandv, Vendee and 204. 

What others have said : 

27X. 

Wild animals : 274. 
William of Normandy : 20, 

88, 246. 
Wines : 4, 5,9, 36, 49, 53, 

69, (70), 135, 147, 148, 

269. 
Woevre : (99), 147, (261). 

Women : 10, 42, 58, 68, 
75, 75, 92, 149, 169, 
187, 188, 211, 226, 251, 
252, 267, 275. 

Wood industr.es : 106, 260. 

Wool; 9, 46, 53, 54, 105, 
148, 251. 

Workmen : 34. 59, 69,75, 

r79, 185, 277. 
Writers ( arious) : i, 3, 119. 
125, 127, 168, 182, 191, 
210, 224, 252, etc., and 
Biblioo:raphies. 

World-war and Fr. : 78, 

1^6. 261, 279, and Ap- 
pendix. 



306 



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